"Oh for..." Isabella Watson said from where she sat, there were days she really missed being the Achkaerinese ambassador to the CIS and this was one of them, "First let's not start speculating as to the actions of another nation around this table, second let's not make threats against each other it's not going to help the situation, it's not going to advance things, it's not going to help deliver Troyes back to Marseilles where it belongs." she took a moment to let out a breath and compose herself

"Now whether we like it or not this has happened, and whether we like it or not there is a significant amount of truth to what all three of you have said." she looked at each of the three representatives who had spoken "What matters is what we do now. As our Rokkenjiman friend has pointed out we now face the very real possibility that King Andrew will look at this situation, note exactly as we have the sovereignty issue and treat this as what it legally could be construed as from his perspective which is terrorism and therefore a criminal act, equally while we're on that point this is arguably terrorism, separatism or insurrection, take your pick on appearance against Marseilles, however given the man is a national hero in Marseilles I doubt that'll ever be how he's viewed. Ms Gianna quoted Mr McKenna saying "a decision the Imperial Government does not recognize as holding any legal basis" in respect of the protectorate status, Mr McKenna is correct because the Marseilles Government never signed off on such an agreement, it is therefore a land grab. That point also holds in respect of the current situation, we have a self proclaimed republic that has not been granted sovereignty over that land by the Marseilles Government who we, as a collective body, have asserted to be the legal owner, the Seaforth protectorate has no legal basis, the Republic of Troyes has no legal basis.

Mr Ferraro is correct in terms of wanting to take further steps however I say politely let's just hold our horses and line this up. There's no value putting measures in place that actually make it harder to get through Seaforth's front door. I will inform you that Empress Serenity is presently enroute to Seaforth to talk to King Andrew about this matter, as Ms Gianna observes previous efforts haven't gone anywhere so the hope is that pressure may be applied with current circumstances. However I will caution you that no one should expect the Cantona roadmap to get any traction in that room, but the Empress is one of the most experienced negotiators on Mundus so there is reason to be optimistic. At the same time Achkaerin has another diplomat traveling to talk to President Sauzee and Prime Minister Deschamps, our hope is to get a referendum lined up that's acceptable to all parties - not the one that Cantona has proposed because we don't think that'll go anywhere with Seaforth and any peaceful resolution to this situation needs Seaforth to play ball. So with that in mind let's look at what we can do." she put a piece of paper with a fair bit of hasty writing on the table.

The Membership of the ASDN in reaffirming their stance in respect of and now being concerned about the developing situation in Troyes caused by the continued Seaforthian presence, proposes the following course of action with intent of helping resolve the Troyes matter:

1. The ultilisation of diplomatic ties to calm current tensions related to Troyes and to not inflame the current situation further.

2. A referendum be held on the 1st of July 2024, the question and arrangements to be worked out through negotiations between the Marseilles Government and Seaforth, with ASDN mediating such negotiations as required

3. ASDN to independently monitor the referendum. Governments of Marseilles and Government of Seaforth to agree to abide by the result.

4. In the event of Marseilles sovereignty prevailing, there shall be a transition of sovereignty and a withdrawal of Seaforth military personnel monitored and verified by the ASDN. This to be concluded no later that 30th September 2024.

5. Seaforthian written and signed agreement to points 2-4 is expected no later than midnight on the 1st of May 2024. (OOC note - Subject to Dave's availability etc)

"This I believe encompasses where we are right now - when the ASDN was formed we made that initial declaration, the deadline for that declarations terms is two weeks out" Isabella said "So in essence this course of action serves two purposes, it uses the time we have available and the current situation to apply diplomatic pressure and hopefully make progress with the Seaforthians. However while I'm sure that Empress Serenity and whoever Rokkenjima sends will do their best to get Seaforth's agreement, we can't have further escalations happening that might prejudice such negotiations, so for that I believe we will be relying on the Aostan's communication line to keep things calm. There is a finality to a referendum, Ms Gianna is correct it is likely a formality in this instance but having it is going to be the most likely way this ends peacefully. Going back to Mr Ferraro's point now, the question becomes what happens if we get to the first of May and Seaforth hasn't produced the requested document? This is where we should consider further steps, such as these." she now put another paper in the table.

In the event that the Kingdom of Seaforth has not produced the signed agreement requested of it by midnight on the 1st of May 2024 the ASDN agrees to the following steps in relation to the Kingdom of Seaforth.

1. The immediate suspension by Rokkenjima and Achkaerin of all treaty provisions with Seaforth.

2. The ASDN shall blockade the port of Troyes, the blockade to be effected in accordance with provisions laid out in maritime convention and law. This blockade shall not infringe requested Aostan patrols nor passage of humanitarian aid.

3. The freezing of all Seaforthian assets held within the jurisdiction of the ASDN, Rishiri and Achkaerinese territory.

4. (insert further proposals here)

"We're all familiar with the term carrot and stick. We're all committed to seeing the Troyes matter settled, we want it to be peacefully done, but failing that it needs to be clear that the line has been crossed and that there will be consequences if Seaforth tries to maintain, without consent of the people, control over Troyes." Isabel said "A blockade would be a step or two higher than what Mr Ferraro suggested with a boycott, however the intent is the same to make Troyes less profitable for Seaforth, it does carry a risk factor but also sends a powerful message."

Raffaello Ferraro stood next. "The Empire of Abertone and Aosta have treaty commitments to each other above and beyond that of the ASDN. Currently we will be relaying information to Aosta on naval movements that could potentially threaten the sovereign waters of Troyes. Should the situation escalate we would have no choice but to consider sending our own support to that region. As for accusations of not complying with the spirit of ASDN let me remind us all of the preamble to this organisations charter, most notably the part that says we affirm "that all foreign bases are temporary and remain only with the expressed concurrence of the countries concerned and are not intended to be used directly or indirectly to subvert the national independence and freedom of States in the area or prejudice the orderly processes of their national development;" This section describes perfectly what has happened over the last few years in Troyes. The city is no more than a glorified military base for Seaforth. While Marseille are not members of this body we agreed to  strengthen the economic and social stability of the region and ensure the peaceful and progressive national development of it. Seaforth have stood in the way of that, tax money from Trojans fills the coffers of Seaforth while taking away a key economic port for Marseille. We must as a body give our support, not just words, to ensure that Seaforth leave Troyes. I suppose we could say its put your money were your mouth is time, Achkaerin and Rokkenjima hold ties with Seaforth, now is time to utilise them to get them to leave. In addition to the steps put forward by Miss Gianna we also propose that ASDN agree that we shall not provide the Seaforthian base in Troyes with any supplies and that we we shall boycott the use of Troyes as a port for all but humanitarian reasons.

As many of you will no doubt now be aware the city of Troyes in Albion has been disputed for several years. Currently the city is occupied by Seaforthian military members while its status as part of Seaforth is disputed by many who live in the city who see their destiny with Marseille, their ancestoral homeland. In the past few hours we have seen the group known as "Real Marseille" declare the city an independent sovereign nation that will seek union with Marseille. Currently we have two brewing international factions, first Aosta and Abertone have supported Real Marseille, while Seaforth and Achkaerin have ties to Seaforth.

The Kingdom of Weissenwald believe that this "city state" should not be permitted to become a ping pong ball between major nations. The city has a population of around 3 million people by our estimate and therefore the Kingdom of Weissenwald puts forward the following proposal.

1. We issue support for self determination by the city proven by an independent referendum.
2. We offer the services of COSNAT to manage this referendum.
3. We offer temporary special membership of this body to Troyes. Should the referendum make Troyes part of Marseille this membership would be withdrawn. Should they remain independent then membership shall continue if accepted.


We now open the floor to suggestions.

To: Asuna Anselmo, Empress of Rokkenjima
Sadazane Konishi, Prime Minister of Fusan

At this point in time there is no hard evidence of this being anything other than what it appears to be, the people of Troyes having become fed up at the continuation of the Seaforthian occupation of their city, it isn't helpful in the grand scheme of things because it only takes one escalation, one attack against the Seaforthian base or the personnel stationed in the city and we're at the threshold where King Andrew could legitimately claim that an armed attack has occurred, which of course triggers the mutual defence agreements that Seaforth has with nations across Mundus. That is an escalation of this situation no one wants to see.

The Seaforthian justification for Troyes as a protectorate no longer stands, and I'm not convinced it ever did, it was founded out of supposed fears concerning the former Grand Duchess of Marseilles Alys Arsenault and came about following the appearance of Ms Arsenault in Troyes several years ago. However as Ms Arsenault was at the time wanted for crimes under the Uppsalla Convention (and could now also be charged with other crimes under the Historical Crimes Treaty) I question whether that fear ever really held water because surely she could and should have been arrested at that point and then we'd arguable be where we are now. The Achkaerinese position remains that Troyes is sovereign Marseilles territory and that the Seaforthian presence amounts to nothing more than an illegal occupation of that land, the Seaforthian protectorate has no legal standing because the Marseilles Government never ceded sovereignty to Seaforth, therefore by the same token the Republic of Troyes has no legal standing. If we start entertaining this idea then what stops a group of students in Rokkenjima from declaring 'the Free City of Phuckbridge'? The principle of sovereignty must be protected.

At this time the Achkaerinese military is being put on a heightened state of readiness just in case this does escalate and Seaforth does make the determination that would trigger treaty obligations, in that event I'd rather have the ability to act quickly than be slower than the Seaforthians. My cousin Sakura is enroute to Marseilles to talk with their Government, I am flying to Seaforth to talk with King Andrew and attempt to give diplomacy the chance to win out.

Signed



Empress of Achkaerin

Kayumi Asami again rose to speak. "In the past few hours we've seen actions taken in regards to Troyes by local actors, as well as the Empires of Aosta and Abertone. The later actions have been taken without the consultation of this body which, some may argue, speaks against the spirit of Article 4.1 considering the defensive ties some members hold with the Kingdom of Seaforth. Furthermore, while the Protectorate of Troyes is illegitimate, the self-proclaimed Republic of Troyes is as well, with concerns being held over the conduct of "Real Marseilles". With no input, at the moment, from the legitimate government of Marseilles on either the self-proclaimed Republic and the actions undertaken in their name, and the Government of Marseilles has yet to green-light foreign naval vessels operating in their waters, we're at a most messy junction. At the moment these operations are seemingly illegal and, if one wished to argue it, against the spirit of the ADSN Charter, so someone," she said as she looked to the representatives from Aosta and Abertone before continuing, "had better begin explaining just how we got to this point."