Egelion-Kalistan Diplomatic Conference | 5644

[Louis]

Location of meeting: Sala de la Diplomacia | Palacio de Villamor | Distrito Real, Altea

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Delegation from the Anantonese Empire: 

• Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto.
  
• Her Highness, Princess Margaret Ananto-DeLaurentis, ISBI
  
• Chancellor of the Empire, Sir Michael Koenig
  
  

Delegation from the Kingdom of Egelion:

• His Majesty, King Romulo I
  
• High Councilor Formoselle-Castilla II
  
• Royal Councilor Mondragon, IDE
  
• Royal Councilor Ibarra
  

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Topics of discussing:

1. Improving relations between Kalistan and Egelion
   
2. Anantonese Security 
   
3. Global Affairs
   

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[Doc]

Chancellor of the Empire, Sir Michael Koenig

Before we begin, Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Mary I Ananto has asked me to enter into the record that she has chosen, for her purposes to suspend rules of protocol regarding her person and her Title for the duration of this meeting, if this is acceptable to Your Majesty and members of your government. She feels those rules of formality will only stifle free discussion on the important topics of the agenda today. She would prefer to discuss these matters directly with you, and without an intermediary.

Her own law however, requires that she continue to refer to herself in the First Person Plural, and it also requires that I remain in the room as well, as a representative of her Government so that I may faithfully report on the proceedings to the National Legislature, and she has asked her sister, Her Highness the Princess Margaret Ananto-DeLaurentis to also be present so that she may confer on matters of foreign policy while we carry on the discussion. In full disclosure, the Lady Margaret carries the title of Crown Princess of Ananto and Kalistan currently and also serves Her Imperial Majesty as head of her Imperial Bureau of Security Intelligence.

If these arrangements are acceptable to Your Majesty, please inform her so so that we may continue.

[Louis]

Chancellor of the Empire, Sir Michael Koenig

Before we begin, Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Mary I Ananto has asked me to enter into the record that she has chosen, for her purposes to suspend rules of protocol regarding her person and her Title for the duration of this meeting, if this is acceptable to Your Majesty and members of your government.  She feels those rules of formality will only stifle free discussion on the important topics of the agenda today.  She would prefer to discuss these matters directly with you, and without an intermediary. 

Her own law however, requires that she continue to refer to herself in the First Person Plural, and it also requires that I remain in the room as well as a representative of her Government so that I may faithfully report on the proceedings to the National Legislature, and she has asked her sister, Her Highness the Princess Margaret Ananto-DeLaurentis to also be present so that she may confer on matters of foreign policy while we carry on the discussion.  In full disclosure, the Lady Margaret carries the title of Crown Princess of Ananto and Kalistan currently and also serves Her Imperial Majesty as head of her Imperial Bureau of Security Intelligence.

If these arrangements are acceptable to Your Majesty, please inform her so so that we may continue.

High Councilor Tomas Formoselle y Castilla II, Speaker of the Crown

We concur with His Excellency's statement and acknowledge the suspension of rules regarding the protocols and title of Her Imperial Majesty. Her Imperial Majesty is free to address His Majesty, disregarding the current royal protocols of formality established by the Royal Court. We open the floor to discussion. 

[Louis]

Su Majestad, Romulo I, Rey de Egelion 

Your Imperial Majesty, Your Highness and Excellencies, and my dear royal councilors,

We are gathered in this room today to begin a new future. A future where we are no longer held by the constraints and narratives of the world's powers. A future we we can create our own paths and strive for a future under the flames of peace and cooperation. This future is not impossible, it is within our grasp. As natural leaders and powers within our region we have but two choices before us, we will unite or we will fall.

The Kingdom of Egelion is ambitious, but we are not wasteful. We understand the dangerous limitations of ambition and are prepared to tackle those issues head on. With power comes responsibility, and we cannot be responsible for tensions destroying our common economies and common cultures. Therefore, I propose we begin a path froward. One of fraternity, one of cooperation. 

We will begin by introducing topics of how we can dispel foreign narratives of mistrust and of ignorance. In Egelion, we share no real hatred or disregard for our southern neighbors. For in a highly connected society, one cannot enjoy the city without enjoying its neighborhood first.

[Doc]

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto

We welcome the eloquent words of our Cousin, His Majesty Romulo Rey, on the topic of Peace and the future. As you may know, we are also looking forward to a future of cooperation and security. The Empire of Ananto and Kalistan is, by nature obsessed with those two topics. There are many dangers in the world, not the least of which are certain states whose aim is to disrupt the peace and security we all take for granted in our region for their own benefit. We are lately concluded with the war in Artania, and no sooner are we home than we see tensions flare in the Migrants' Pass. It would seem that some parts of our world are addicted to war, conflict, and division.

By contrast, our region is blessed by peace and security: We have not had a conflict in the Anantonese Basin since well before our Grandmother was born: it has been generations. That security has maintained through diligence and a commitment to that peace, to negotiation, and to understanding between our nations. But even here there are subtle changes which work to make that security a bit more tenuous. We would prefer to recommit with our neighbors and our Cousin to the project of peace and security in our region: As was the expressed position of our Father, so too it is our expressed position to work together with Your Majesty and your Government to undermine the foreign narratives which aim to drive a wedge between us in the maintenance of the tranquility that we both enjoy.

To this end, We welcome a statement from Your Majesty regarding ideas of how we can proceed in our mutual goal of working together and cancelling this external narrative which aims at division of something which so clearly benefits us both.

[Louis]

Su Majestad, Romulo I, Rey de Egelion 

With the help of the IDE and our soon-to0-be-retired Royal Councilor Mondragon, we believe our shared commitment must eb established and fostered through a treatise that explains our commitment to peace. We believe that the pen and paper is stronger than the sword and shield. On behalf of Egelion, we can attest and remain committed to the following ideas:

• Economic integration (via AESA or other organizations)
  
• Deepened royalist relations (titles, lands, events, marriages)
  
• Commitment to absolutism and all of its associated ideologies
  
• Cultural integration (continued state visits, educational cooperation, musical events)
  

Our goal is to dispel any thoughts or narratives that we are not committed to friendship. If her Imperial Majesty or any of her delegates have other ideas, we are certainly glad to discuss them.

[Doc]

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto

We would point out that AESA has gone out of effect. By the general but regrettable neglect of our former Partners in Lourenne, and changes in our relationship with Lodamun, who seeks to gradually improve Luthori's trade positions in Northern Seleya, we have found that that agreement no longer serves our interests. Our withdrawal from that treaty, by its own terms, had the effect of completely obliterating it, and therefore it no longer exists. We have replaced it, however, with our association with the Seleyan Economic Community.

We would be interested in developing a bilateral agreement with Egelion, but our reservation has more to do with who Egelion trades with. This is of course not a commentary on Egelion's associations, but there are some people who we cannot permit penetration into our markets, due to political considerations. We will not do anything, for example that permits an improvement of the Luthorian position into Seleya. They already have far too much, and dare we say, quite unnatural, influence flowing through Mordusia. Consequently, that will always be a consideration in any agreements we commit our nation to.

With regard to titles and so forth, they are absolutely ours to dispense, and the only limitation is that we cannot provide titles which directly lead to control of the Nation to a foreign heir, so that a foreign Potentate shall never sit upon the throne of Ananto. Our family, as Your Majesty is likely aware, it not very profligate in the region of producing children. It is a feature of our late marriages, our excellent workforce training, our myriad educational opportunities, our exceptional obstetric health care services and family planning offerings, and House tradition. That said: It is our desire to populate our countryside with petty nobility, and many titles may be obtained by those who endeavor to settle the rural parts of our country and do so industriously by constructing a manor of a certain size and plant the land for sale to a Growers' Syndicate. We welcome Your Majesty to encourage any excess population of means to emigrate to Kalistan to assist us with this project.

On the topic of Absolutism, we are encouraged by Your Majesty's consolidation of political authority within your National Legislature and would like to make ourselves available to assist in any efforts you might make against creeping republicanism. As you may well know, Kalistan was a Republic for many thousands of years, and over that time, while there were many times that our nation shined, there were also many many dark periods where republicanism permitted unconscionable acts by those who sought only power and domination of the people, and sought to turn democratic institutions into weapons. Only the end of the Republic brought peace to our land, and with that peace we were able to accomplish far more unified than we were divided internally and along political lines. If there is any service we may provide Your Majesty to further deepen your commitment to unity of policy and fiat, we shall not hesitate.

The same goes for cultural exchange. Our nation is a nation which lies sandwiched between two Egelian speaking states, each with honorable and remarkable histories. We note that while Kalistan speaks Vrassan, Egelian has a special relationship to Kalistan. It is spoken affectionately by a large number of our people as a first language, and the majority of our population as a second language. Our own dialect, Suldanoran, which is spoken in Suldanor (as the name suggests) is largely Vrassan spoken with Egelian pronunciation and a lot of loan words from Gaduri Egelian. There is a cultural affinity within Kalistan for the Culture of your nation and of Gaduridos. To that end we would most certainly like to begin exploring association with your Real Academia Egeliona, to further the understanding not only of Egelian Language and Culture within Kalistan, but to act as a conduit for Egelian Culture into Kalistan. We admire the beautification of your cities, the organization of your educational system, and the forethought Your Majesty has placed into sharing your cultural influence in Dovani, and it seems natural that we should also seek to be associated with this.

These are our thoughts on the vectors Your Majesty has proposed.

At this moment, Lady Margaret leaned in and whispered something in her sister's ear.

If we may, Your Majesty, We would like to add that Kalistan seeks to open a discussion on increased security cooperation in the Anantonese Ocean. We would also like information on the reported Rocket tests that Egelion reported on a handful of years ago. At the risk of being forward and blunt, what has been a major source of concern for our Empire is lack of communication regarding Egelion's goals for expansion of La Marina Real, and the missile tests. If Your Majesty would commit to ongoing conversations regarding these things, we could perhaps turn off some of the klaxons of alarm that ring off in Kaliburg.

[Louis]

Su Majestad, Romulo I, Rey de Egelion 

We've heard the points presented by Her Imperial Majesty and I can wholeheartedly agree on the aforementioned points. We are open to negotiating a separate trade agreement between our two countries. We can of course naturally expect continued  immigration and cultural diffusion between both of our countries following this meeting. I will refer you to the Real Academia Egeliona concerning more integrated cultural ideas between our countries. We believe Palacio Arteaga is well-prepared to begin language supports and educational resources for your country as we have done with Dovani.

I will fully explain that we are in fact trade partners with Luthori et al, but we do not hold fully integrated economies with those of Artania. We of course use Mordusian ports as a means of resupply for our Southern Armada, but we do not expect further integration with Mordusia or Luthori. Our partnership remains fully in economics and royal diplomacy. Frankly, what how Luthori conducts itself on the global stage is no concern to myself or the rest of Altea. We fully understand Luthori's full potential on the global stage. Frankly, we see no concern in future Seleyan encroachments. 

On the matter of our missile tests, Castillo Garbaldi can confirm to you that we have begun testing ballistic technology as part of our ATENEA Missile Program. Our program is heavily designed as a potent missile defense system. However, we have begun to research and test prototypes for an advanced offensive aspect to this system as well. Put it simply, if Egelion is attacked by a foreign adversary, we will not only have the capability to defend ourselves, but attack from abroad as well. The conflict in Kundrati showed us many things, one of them being that we must be able to show military superiority many ways, not just with ground troops. This goes the same for our expansions in the Armada system as well: we must be ready for adversaries and their attacks. Our armadas will not only protect our region, but help with intervention abroad as well. Our trade is simply too precious for us to leave it unattended at sea. These are similar developments that have taken place in Kensington. We are no different. We want protection, but also the ability to respond ourselves. With our natural ability for diplomacy, we see our military developments as a "Plan B" to respond to global tensions.

[Doc]

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Mary I Ananto

Your Majesty, With all respect, We are convinced that our Cousin, the Queen Nicole has done a far better job at explaining our mind on sensitive issues revolving around security in the areas adjacent to Ananto than we could ever do in so short a period of time that we have here. It is a form of delusion perhaps, bordering on paranoia, and it would be safe to describe it as a genetic trait, or at least cultural memory passed down from generation to generation to generation.

But as our Sister is fond of saying, 'Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you.' Try as we may, when we see things that don't make sense, alarm bells ring off for us, and not just us, but generals, admirals, and spies up and down the chain of command also, shall we say, lose their military bearing.

Kalistan had operated under the impression, since the time of your Majesty's father, that we and Egelion had been cooperating and sharing intelligence. We were admittedly negligent for our own parts to coordinate with Egelion on the developments which eventually led us into war, and then back to war. Perhaps Your Majesty can imagine how surprised though when we discovered, not from any communiques, but from your newspaper, that Egelion had dramatically increased the size of their navy and were launching what we can assume were missiles that likely have sufficient range to effectively target every city in Kalistan and Ananto. Such things are hard to discover and process, given the admitted feeling of constant insecurity in Kalistan.

We believe that this can be helped with cooperation and communication. Kalistan has no reason to fear Egelion of course, nor do we want our relationship defined by uncertainty or insecurity. Nor should Egelion ever feel that it should ever limit the actions it takes to defend itself from the threats it feels. We hope that instead Kalistan and Egelion can establish a complementary security protocol where our individual strengths enhance the security of our partners.

So when Kalistan sees in its newspaper, or from our satellites, that Egelion is launching missiles, Kalistan doesn't immediately start looking into systems that will enable us to shoot them down. We could have benefitted from a deterrent like that when Kaliburg, Eshar and Port Swedes were attacked by white phosphorous and concentrated chlorine gas when we were infants. Our desire is not to live on edge with regard to this, but to understand Egelion's position vis a vis regional and maybe hemispheric security and be a partner to cover gaps in that program, in the hopes that Egelion will be willing to help us in exchange should the time ever come.

We believe our response to these surprises could be a source for the external narrative surrounding apparent rifts between our two states.

Perhaps Your Majesty would give us his thoughts on this topic?

[Louis]

Su Majestad, Romulo I, Rey de Egelion

I do believe we can settle this foreign narrative of tending and paranoia if we communicate more clearly. It is something that my Royal Councilors and the staff at the IDE and IEI (Institute of Egelian Intelligence) are more than capable of doing. I would just like to clarify that Kalistan has never been a target or potential threat for Egelion. We understand the consequences of what a potential conflict may be and we do not feel the need to pursue that avenue. 

Yes, my reign is more ambitious than that of my late father, but our objectives have not changed. I still wish to see Egelion as a leader on the global stage--just as my father did. I cannot see that goal fully realized full cooperation and amiability between our states is strong and stable. If it brings ease to Her Imperial Majesty and the crowd in Kaliburg, Altéa has no interest in fueling the flames of war here or anywhere at the moment. A conflict would most definitely result in no victors. It is not something we wish to play with or even consider happening in our region. We of course would remain committed to keeping open communication between our capitals and intelligence agencies to ensure security in our region is maintained.