Krimeon/CSU Discussions

[Achkaerin]

To - Prime Minister Elize Berenberg

The Cross-Straits Union has received your application to join the Union as a full member, as such it is the custom of the Union to invite a representative of your nation to the headquarters of the organisation located in Ashinxao, Rokkenjima. Arrangements will be made to transport your delegation from the airport to our headquarters where I and some other representatives of the Union will meet with them and discuss the application with a view to making a recommendation to the membership.

Signed

Lìosa Càidh
Secretary General, Cross-Straits Union

[The Young Pope]

Somov M. Leonidovich, the current Foreign Minister of Krimeon, was tasked to handle the country's possible admission into the promising CSU. The perceived character of him could be varied depending on who one were to refer to, although the common notion surrounding this able, experienced diplomat was the fact that Leonidovich was regarded as continuing in the style of his predecessor: a brilliant diplomat but a civil servant rather than a politician. A further description entailed as a tough, reliable, extremely sophisticated negotiator, but not part of the Tsar's inner sanctum and that the toughening of Krimeonite foreign policy has got very little to do with him. Whatever was the truth in regards to being one of the monarch's closest men or how much influence he wielded, Leonidovich simply didn't want to get involved too much in Dirty politics which could be treacherous indeed and even fatal for his sake, if used against him. The diplomat rather preferred to express and execute the country's foreign politics, nothing more, nothing less.

The Foreign Minister arrived at his final destination in Ashinxao somewhat hopeful and excited at the prospects for future relations with the organisation and vice versa, his journey having given him a positive impression of the organisation's values and ample time to study briefings on it. As the plane came to a halt in the terminal he straightened his suit and checked his reflection in a mirror before disembarking to be greeted on the platform by the CSU delegation.

"Greetings, Somov Leonidovich, Minister of Foreign Affairs, as discussed prior. I'm honored to be greeted by thee and am looking forward to be meeting with Secretary General Càidh as soon as possible." he said.

[Achkaerin]

Lìosa Càidh stood in her office looking out over the city, there was a bit of a buzz around the place, the meeting with the Krimeonite's was something that could see the first expansion of the Union in a while, it would also if it happened mark the first expansion of the Union since the new Treaty was brought into force. Lìosa herself was quite confident in her ability and with a positive mindset felt up to the challenge of the day. She had the fortuity to be able to step from her office out onto a balcony to get some air and observe the arrival of the Krimeonite delegation's car, as it made it's way up to the entrance, it had been a simple matter of sending appropriate officials out to meet the delegates and escort them in. She smiled and left the balcony, closed the door and sat down behind her desk. After glancing through her notes she looked up as there was a knock on her office door.

"Yes?" Lìosa said, her secretary Kelly put her head around the door
"I have Somov Leonidovich the Krimeon Minister of Foreign Affairs for you." Kelly said
"Send him in Kelly." Lìosa said with a nod indicating she was ready for the meeting, she looked up as the man entered the office. She stood and offered her hand "Minister welcome to our headquarters, can I get you a drink before we start?"

[The Young Pope]

"Secretary Càidh, Thank you for this warm hospitality you've shown us thus far" Somov greeted and shook her hands, as he took off his coat and placed his work bag right beside him. Sitting up straight right across Líosa's desk, he wouldn't mind having something of a liquid substance to quell the dryness of his throat. "Oh I would love to, I'll take whatever is considered to be traditional in this country." Somov said nodding.

After a short while, he said something again whilst browsing through some of his documents, "You must sense how excited I am to represent the interests of the Krimeonite Tsardom, we're honored to be considered a potential candidate for full CSU membership. Naturally it's customary for prospective applicants to be screened through and whole, our nation included; We've hesitated until now to join as a matter of fact, but when growing support fort it has increased as the years pass by and with the blessings of His Majesty Tsar Viktor, this would indeed be the perfect timing." he said smiling.

[Achkaerin]

"When in Rokkenjima the traditional drink tends to be some sort of mead." Lìosa said "Though personally I find it a taste I have yet to acquire, plus I'm not much for alcohol in general." she did however keep a few bottles of it in her drinks cabinet so she poured Somov a drink and handed it to him before getting a lemonade for herself "Let me explain a little about how this works, my job today is to go through a few things with you and address any concerns the CSU has with you. I then deliver a report of our conversation to Madison Gayle, she's the chair of the Council of Head of States and has the office across the hall from me. She then takes the report forwards it to the governments of the full CSU member states, so Achkaerin and Rokkenjima and then about an hour later calls them and asks 'Yes or no?' If they say yes the CSU then states the date of Krimeon's accession to the CSU and you're in."

"For occasions such as this I have a checklist that I need to go through." Lìosa continued now settling in behind her desk and looking at her electronic tablet "Fortunately you do appear to satisfy most of the criteria, Krimeon is signatory to the major international treaties all of which we ask the membership to act in the spirit of. Being signatory means that you already comply with them anyway so that's a hurdle cleared. The one concern that has been raised is that we see that the Tsar of Krimeon is undertaking a trip to Tamora something that I'm sure you'll understand raised a few eyebrows here given Tamora's practicing of slavery and such. Apart from that all I have are a few questions that I need you to answer."

[The Young Pope]

Cyka Blyat, this taste's literally like shit and utterly weak as f@ck. Our vodka's clearly superior..., Somov thought for himself as he drank from the Rokkenjiman mead and tried his best not to show a sign of dislike for the taste, although kept his cool and didn't want to cause an unnecessary scene, after all both he and Líosa were there to facilitate Krimeonite membership in the CSU. "I understand the procedures and am ready and willing to answer any questions, concerns raised by the organisation. Also thanks for this...mead…*Cough*" he said firstly before continuing. Damn, who on Mundus is sane enough to drink this sort of crap anyway?.

"In terms of Tsar Viktor, Prince Andrew and Patriarch Kirill undertaking a trip to Tamora, it has nothing to do with showng sympathy towards the Imperial Regime nor the abhorrent practice of slavery, which directly contravenes with our values and especially the Orthodox Christian Church that the majority of Krimeonites adhere to, including the Royal Family. As the Tsar pointed out, it's mainly to build an open dialogue touching religious and cultural spheres and showing solidarity, support towards the constituent Kingdom of Attica, which as you may know already is among the oldest Christian realms in Mundus. Her Majesty Queen Arpine of House Saroyan needs all of the friends she can get. We can expect the Tsar to meet with the Emperor but I can guarantee you that we will not sign an economic treaty involving slavery, I can assure you this on my utmost conscience; the government will release some time later a statement to disprove all of these concerns. Krimeon dislikes hypocrites and we don't wish to embark on such a path" Somov ended.

[Achkaerin]

Líosa sighed, this was where problems were going to be but as long as there wasn't any formal treaty between Krimeon and Tamora then it was a problem potentially avoided, she just had to hope that Rokkenjima didn't fly off the handle when time for the decision came.

"So given that decisions about applying to join an organisation such as this usually come about following a reasonable discussion perhaps you can tell me what it is about the CSU that interests Krimeon?" Líosa asked

[The Young Pope]

Somov knew in advance that even if Attica was possibly the most moral of Tamora's kingdoms, it nonetheless connected the Imperial regime to the Krimeonite Crown in one way or the other, which had to be handled in the most discreet and professional way as possible or Krimeon would just end up in a huge international mess of crap that geopolitics could muster to spurt out. In any case, he concentrated on Líosa's questioning. "Well, let us be clear that a primary reason for Krimeon wanting to join the CSU is due to economic matters; gaining access to such a large international market where we could export our fine Vodka is an opportunity not to blink an eye towards." the Minister joked a little before continuing.

"But the absolute main reason behind all of that would be to be part of something beautiful in terms of ideals and realization, the fact that different nations no matter origins are able to cooperate extensively and intimately, on a wide range of issues and projects that affect our beloved Mundus, both good ones and bad ones, as well as the methods and solutions to these problems. We personally believe that the Tsardom could become a valuable player and ally in the CSU, and the list of potential benefits that would both enrich the Tsardom and the rest of the CSU would be tremendous enough to not ignore at all." Somov ended.

[Achkaerin]

Líosa made a few notes on the answer to that question before looking at Somov, she was still to some extent trying to gauge just what Krimeon was about, getting a good feel for the nation would undoubtedly help her when the time came for her to make her recommendation. Still so far so good at least.

"One of the important things for the membership of the CSU when we take applications and consider them is that the CSU is more than just an economic union, you can see that in our treaty, it's about common values, working together and about being a community. So can you tell me a little about Krimeon?" Líosa asked

[The Young Pope]

Szücs couldn’t help but smile at such a question; Being a Nationalist Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs in a 2-party coalition government with the Social Democrats would’ve naturally garnered curiosity and a bit of concern at the same time. However his willingness to answer, besides the desire to join the CSU, was loosened up by Cáidh who happened to be quite pretty in his eyes, being a simple man he was.

“Krimeon is a country filled with myriads of contrasts. I could literally sit here for hours and talk about what our Empire is all about, but I’m sure you and I know that it’s perfectly not going to work splendidly, unless we have a lifetime supply of coffee. But indeed Krimeonites have a set of values where the key to survival and success is brought forth by working together and maintaining our common community.”

“The simple and straightforward example would be to take a look at our official motto: God, Honor, Fatherland, which details about the citizen's duty to serve the Fatherland, with the social contract allowing exceptions honour and faith. However, as much as the majority of Krimeonites take their Catholic Christianity seriously, whilst showing honor, compassion and mercy towards their nation, others and themselves, there’s something else which binds all of us strongly compared to these sets of values.”

“What I am referring to is the official motto of our Imperial Dynasty, the Poniatowski-Esterházy: Truth Prevails. It may be simple yet one of the most powerful and enduring values that has ever existed since the beginning of this world. It originates from the reputable theologian and philosopher Jan Hus whose entire lifetime and work was to ‘Seek the truth...hear the truth...learn the truth...love the truth...speak the truth...hold the truth...and defend the truth until death’. The last statement he may have indeed paid the price for it, but at the same time it opened up a long line of tradition in Krimeonite political theory and way of life, revealing to us what the purpose of Mankind is all about.”

“These are the sets of values that define the Empire of Krimeon itself and I sincerely hope this answer of mine has brought further clarity as to what we’re trying to strive for in the CSU if given allowance to join.”

[Achkaerin]

Líosa made a few more notes, satisfied with the response, Krimeon was certainly shaping up to be a very suitable candidate to join the Union. She paused for a moment forming the next question in her mind.

"So we've covered what about the CSU interests Krimeon and we've covered some things about Krimeon itself, so as a prospective CSU member let me ask you this - where do you see the CSU in five years time?" Líosa asked

[The Young Pope]

"Well I'll admit that it's certainly tricky to predict the future, especially if new turn of events show up along the path disrupting everything that's supposed to go according to the plan. But if the plans don't deviate, then firstly it's safe to say that the visions that we can see within 5 years is that the CSU would have become a model of excellence when it comes to its purposes as an international organisation for likeminded countries:"

"- Maintaining and enhancing peace, security, stability and further strengthen peace-oriented values across Mundus…

- Enhancing transnational resilience by promoting greater political, security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation...

- Preserving Mundus as a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and free of all other weapons of mass destruction...

- Ensuring that the peoples and Member States live in peace with Mundus at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment...

- A solid foundation for a single market and production base which is stable, prosperous, highly competitive and economically integrated with effective facilitation for trade and investment in which there is free flow of goods, services and investment; facilitated movement of business persons, professionals, talents and labour; and freeer flow of capital...

- Alleviating poverty and narrowing the development gap through mutual assistance and cooperation...

- Strengthening democracy, enhancing good governance and the rule of law, and promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms

- Responding effectively, in accordance with the principle of comprehensive security, to all forms of threats, transnational crimes and transboundary challenges...

- Promoting sustainable environment so as to ensure the protection of Mundus' environment, the sustainability of its natural resources, the preservation of its cultural heritage and the high quality of life of its peoples...

- Developing human resources through closer cooperation in education and life-long learning, and in science and technology, for the empowerment of the peoples of CSU and for strengthening the CSU community...

- Enhancing the well-being and livelihood of the peoples of CSU by providing them with equitable access to opportunities for human development, social welfare and justice...

- Promoting a people-oriented CSU in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate in, and to benefit from, the process of CSU integration and community building...

- Promoting an CSU identity through the fostering of greater awareness of the diverse cultures and heritage of its members..."

"These are only a few of the visions that one may have about the CSU within 5 years, as long as everyone who's a part of this contributes with their own fair share of commitment and dedication."

[Achkaerin]

Líosa didn't make the notes this time, instead she kept her gaze firmly on the man sat on the other side of her desk. She was at that moment cautiously optimistic perhaps because she was still conjuring up the image of what Krimeon was, or maybe it was just the way she was. She looked at the man and narrowed her eyes before glancing at her list of questions, which they were now towards the bottom of.

"If there's one criticism of international organisations it's that they lack the ability to hold their membership accountable for their actions, one only needs to look at the CTO for evidence of that." Líosa said "I trust Krimeon has no issue with being held and holding others accountable?"