Nothing without Oil (Clysperis and Samantra)

[Markus]

To: Her Royal Majesty, Pharaoh Akasha
From: Her Excellency, President of the Duma Yeva Litvin


I would like to begin by expressing our gratitude, in the name of the Holy Kingdom, for refusing the appeal of the Rokkenjiman Empire to sanction the people of Samantra for expressing their will in the latest referendum. The fact that Your Majesty did so despite the fact that she disagrees with Samantra’s position is something that only furthers our respect for Your Majesty.

I believe that in times of crisis you find out who you can rely on and Your Majesty’s government has proven a reliable partner in this crisis and therefore would like to extend an invitation for Your Majesty to come to Petrograd for an offical state visit. As we both know your kingdom is a major supplier of oil and gas for Samantra’s economy and that creates a special link between our nations.  The resources your kingdom provides are crucial for the well-functioning of the Samantran economy and the compensation we provide in return I believe is of equal importance to your kingdom’s economic development. I therefore believe we would have plenty to discuss on economic matters related not only to the supply of oil and gas but also potential Samantran investments in the city of Setri and the wider Clysperi economy. I will be of course be available to approach any other topics Your Majesty might deem appropriate for our bilateral relations.

I look forward to Your Majesty’s reply and any special requests she might have for the visit should our invitation be accepted.

With the greatest of respect,
Yeva Litvin
President of the Duma

[Beatrice]

It is not that long ago that the Kingdom of Seaforth saw fit to insert itself into the domestic affairs of the Kingdom of Clysperis and, in our modern era, it is disappointing to see that imperialism is alive and well. While the methods may have changed the ultimate force behind them remains the same: cohesion, control, and the desire for compliance. I may not agree with Samantra on this issue, and I may not be the largest supporter of the messiness inherently involved with democracy, but I will always respect the sovereign will of all nations to conduct their affairs as they see fit, for who is best positioned to say what is best for their nation than those of that nation? Certainly not those in capitals thousands or more miles from their shores.

I shall be honoured to accept your invitation and shall depart for Samantra in the coming days. The economic links we presently share, and our relationship regarding energy, are a solid foundation from which we can build yet more from. It is not lost upon me that recent decisions in foreign capitals may have had an impact on the Samantran market so, as an act of good will to remove some of the resulting pressure and to look to the future, sales of oil and gas to Samantra shall be set at a price 10% less than that set by the Committee, to continue at that discount rate for the foreseeable future. Clysperis is in a period of prosperity, each day we see new economic heights, and it is with joy that I pass the benefits of our success in the spirit of friendship.

I look forward to my arrival in Petrograd, and to discussing with you the future.

Akasha Di-‘nh-mi-Re, Sovereign of Sovereigns, Divine of Appearance, Beloved of Amun, Chosen of Ra, Lord of the Three Lands, Ruler of Justice like Ra, High Priest of Every Temple, the Eye of Horus, Satisfied is the heart of Ra.

[Markus]

Live coverage: The Clysperi Pharaoh comes to Petrograd

Trinitas TV news anchor commeting on the live coverage of Pharaoh Akasha’s state visit to Petrograd

"Today the Holy Kingdom is visited by Pharaoh Akasha of Clyperis. Ever since our country has reemerged on the world stage is has engaged with countries with whom it shares cultural or religious bonds but today it is different. The Kingdom of Clysperis, while being on the same continent, is a world apart from our Holy Kingdom. Pharaoh Akasha rules her 35 million kingdom with an ironfist, within the confines of her borders her word is law, and not just secular law but also spiritual law for she is also head of her faith. Even in a Mundus dominated by authoritarian monarchs few can match her total control of her country and that control combined with what can be described as an erratic behavior has led to some very odd decisions. A few years ago, the then 30 something year old Pharaoh emerged from isolation as a staunch ally of the Tamoran Empire and a vocal critic of the internationalist powers including the Unholy Empire of Achkaerin. So close were the relations between the two powers that the Pharaoh even married a Tamoran prince. So it was perhaps of no surprise that when Pharaoh Akasha’s rule was threatened by rebellion Tamora was at their side to crush it. What was surprising was that the Unholy Empire joined the efforts. Fast forward a couple of years and the Tamoran Empire is now the enemy of Clysperis and the Unholy Empire is its new best friend. What lead to the change is hard to say and perhaps we might never know, what we do know is the Pharaoh has embarked on a massive effort to change the face and reputation of her kingdom. Slavery is now a thing of the past, relations with Tamora are memories of a bygone era, the word of the day is the City of Dreams, a multi-billion roubles (USD) project which seeks to make Clysperis an international financial center. The change is so drastic that even the religious landscape of CLysperis has changed with a significant Helusian minority appearing where in the past there was vocal criticism of the “Helusian Empire”. 

And how has Mundus reacted to the change? If rumors are true meetings with the nations of Chistopol, Kodima and even East Moreland have not yielded the best results. If we were to guess, most of Mundus does not buy that Pharaoh Akasha’s reforms are meant to last and her U-turn regarding the Tamoran allies makes many nations wary of building relations with the Pharaoh. So our viewers would be correct in asking why is the Pharaoh coming to Petrograd? The short answer would be because our secular government invited them. The longer and more precise answer is this, look at the graph:

65% of Samantra’s oil comes from OPEN countries.

More than 60% percent of Samantra’s oil comes from OPEN countries. Of that OPEN part about a third is Clysperi oil. So the Samantran economy is heavily dependent on Clysperi oil. In return, Samantra is one of the largest buyers of Clysperi oil if not the largest. So the two nations are dependent on one another, the Samantran economy cannot function without oil and Clysperis dreams about building a modern, state of the art financial hub cannot happen without Samantran roubles coming in.

On the surface the meeting between the two countries is off to a good start by looking at the itinerary. Unlike in other meetings, where the Pharaoh received a more modest welcome, in Petrograd the honor guard awaits her, the President of the Duma Yeva Litvin will personally greet her at the airport. A special traffic free corridor has been established so that the diplomatic convoy can get to the Duma without delay. The corridor was specially chosen so that the Pharaoh gets two see at least two major landmarks in Petrograd: Cathedral of the Martyrs of the Sacred War and the Freedom Monument. And once she reaches the Duma, rumor has it that she will be invited to speak before the assembly.

But behind the festivity, behind the diplomatic arrangements the two sides have serious differences to solve. The kingdom of Clysperis is moving with the speed of light in Achkaerin’s orbit and while that is well within the right of Clysperis, the Holy Kingdom cannot stand by and watch as its energy security becomes dependent on the whims of the Unholy Empire (ooc: Achkaerin). It would be hard for the Pharaoh to provide guarantees that Samantra’s oil supply is not endangered by Achkaerin’s influence when the whole Mundus saw what happened to the Tamorans. And there is more, Clysperis has a significant Rus’ speaking minority in the kingdom and Samantra is duty bond to care for that minority even if they are not citizens of the holy kingdom. And the Clysperi side itself might have reasons for disagreement, while we lack sources from their side, we know that the Pharaoh has not been shy to express her disagreements about Samantran democracy or our domestic laws. What chances are there for the two sides to reach an compromise is hard to tell but it seems that on our side, the secular government has made an effort to create the condition for such a compromise to be reached."
         
OOC: this is basically how the press presented the meeting.

The Samantran honor guard welcoming Pharaoh Akashah and the rest of the delegation from the Kingdom of Clysperis

Cathedral of the Martyrs of the Sacred War was consecrated in 1984 and was dedicated to the Christian Orthodox martyrs of the Sacred War (Great War Era + the Samantran civil war 1914-1954) was one of the major landmarks that dominated the city skyline

Another major landmark was the Freedom Monument, erected in 1946 (shortly after the end of the Great War) was dedicated to the Samantran soldiers and their allies that perished in the Great War Era. On top of the monument the Statue of Liberty could be seen.


After the diplomatic convoy reached the Palace of the Duma and all the welcoming protocol was respected, the Pharaoh and the rest of the Clysperi delegation were invited to take front row seats in the chamber of the Duma. President Yeva Litvin took the podium and began a short speech:

“Your Majesty, honorable members of the Duma, ladies and gentlemen. We are honored to have here today a very special guest, Her Royal Majesty Pharaoh Akasha of the kingdom of Clysperis.

Her Royal Majesty has come from thousands of miles of away from MidAranye and we thank her for making the journey.

The kingdom of Clysperis and the Holy Kingdom are different in many ways, in our language, in our customs and in our faith yet we share the same continent and the same challenges. Not too long ago the Kingdom of Clysperis bared the full brunt of the Soviet forces and through perseverance and with the help of its allies eventually came on top. So our two countries understand the threat of the Soviet menace and the fact that while now the threat seems to have subsided that can change at any time.

We also share what I believe is a fiercely independent mindset, our nations favor sovereignty and are not afraid to disagree with established international norms in order to protect our national interest. During Her Majesty visit we hope to approach in our talks a multitude of areas of discussion that will increase understanding and cooperation between our peoples.

Before I conclude I would also like to express, in the name of the Duma and the Samatran people, our most sincere respect for the efforts undertaken by Your Majesty which has led to the abolition of slavery and indentured servitude in your kingdom. It is for this reason that this chamber has voted unanimously to award Your Majesty the Cross of the Holy Kingdom, the highest civilian decoration in our country. Please Your Majesty if you would join me here” Yeva said inviting the Pharaoh to receive the decoration and also giving her the opportunity to say a few word to the Duma if she wanted to.

Spoiler:  The Cross of the Holy Kingdom • show

The highest civilian decoration in the Holy Kingdom awarded to Pharaoh Akasha with a written dedication:

“The Duma of the Holy Kingdom of Samantra awards The Cross of the Holy Kingdom to Her Majesty Pharaoh Akasha for making history in banning the practice of slavery and indentured servitude in the lands of the Kingdom of Clysperis for all eternity.”

After the speech, the delegation from Clysperis was invited in one of the meeting rooms in the building to begin their talks. The room was recently blessed by a Samantran Orthodox priest and the smell of incense was still present in the room.

The meeting room awaiting the two delegations. The flags of both Samantra and Clysperis were on display.

After the two delegations took their seats, Yeva as host, began the meeting by saying:

“Allow me to begin by expressing gratitude in the name of the Samantran secular government for accepting the invitation. I hope your stay here will be pleasant and please let us know if there is anything your delegation needs. I also want to thank you for the generous discount of 10% that you have offered below the price set by the OPEN committee. It is of great help to the competitivity of the Samantran economy."


During the exchange servers discreetly made their way to the two delegations and were ready to provide guests with food and drinks. The food was in full accordance with the requirements of the Easter fast and as such there was no meat or anything with eggs or dairy products on the menu.

[Beatrice]

"President Yeva Litvin, honorable members of the Duma, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for the opportunity to speak here, with you, today.

Much has been said prior to my arrival before you in this Chamber today that has no bearings upon the relationship between Clysperis and Samantra. While I am one who can appreciate the historic differences held between our nations towards the Achkaerinese I remind you that, today, you are meeting with a representative of the Kingdom of Clysperis, that which we shall discuss has nothing to do with the Kingdom, and especially with my stance in regard to the position taken by allies of Achkaerin toward Samantra on an issue which one could arguably draw some agreement between the Kingdom and Rokkenjima, even then I proceeded to slash costs paid by Samantra for oil and gas supplied by the Kingdom of Clysperis because I value national sovereignty; I value self-determination, even when it goes against what I believe in, and I value the right of any People to determine what happens within their borders because no one outside of them could possibly know what is best for the People of Samantra, just as no Seaforthian could know what is best for the People of Clysperis.

The difference before us is strong, and offers a different narriative than that which we've seen from the global elite: they disagree with you and levy sanctions and other measures in response. Clysperis disagrees with you? We accept it and move on, we move on to areas where we can find agreement, we move on to issues where we can find some manner of consensus, we see that we have differing views and we don't declare war on each other; instead, we recognize that differences between peoples and cultures are to be expected and are wholly normal, but they do not mandate us to be foes or rivals. Some would say that it would be difficult to provide guarantees that supplies would not be endangered? Clysperis, and Clysperis alone, determines with whom it conducts business with, and while I honour and respect the friendship which Clysperis holds with the Achkaerinese do not confuse friendship with the status of vassal. Clysperis and Samantra have disagreed and, especially in the course of that disagreement given the positions staked internationally, the actions of my Kingdom thus far have proven themselves: disagreement or not, divergent views or not, the Kingdom will not take punitive measures in response because we respect the differences between cultures and societies are opportunities to be harnessed, not disparaged which has unfortunately been the basic operational mode of Mundus for far too long.

I remain hopeful for what we will accomplish here, I hold faith in the capabilities of the President as a representative of her People and I shall endeavour to be a representative of my People. I shall leave dissenting views, clip-baits and attention grabbing for the media whilst her and I conduct the business of state. I believe that to be a sentiment shared by all of us here today as I graciously accept the Cross of the Holy Kingdom. It has been a long journey for the Kingdom to reach this day, and we shall continue to do that which is in the service of Ma'at and the future of our People, and to see a future where servitude is consigned to history once and for all.

 Thank you all for your time."
"It is my pleasure," Akasha replied with a smile. "We are partners, and I hope that our meetings shall extend that partnership and promote understanding and further cooperation between our Peoples. The world order is wrought with nations taking actions because the actions of some upset others, ignoring cultural differences and different perspectives, viewing them almost as something vile. We've forgotten, as a planet it seems, that one can hold different views on not just one, but many issues, and still set such differences aside to accomplish mutual aims and objectives."

[Markus]

“I have the same hopes, Your Majesty. And since you mentioned differences let us begin by addressing those first. From your speech before the Duma I take that you are aware with what the press is reporting regarding our partnership so let’s address that.

As you are perhaps aware our relation with Imperial Achkaerin is poor and it dates backs more than a century. We have little trust in them and view their actions and policies through the lens of history. It is for this reason that we find Your Majesty’s kingdom ever closer relation with Achkaerin problematic for the energy security of Samantra. We cannot under any circumstances have our economy be held hostage at the whims of Achkaerin. So following Your kingdom’s change in geopolitics from the Tamoran Empire as guarantor to your security to Achkaerin our national security experts at OPCS (ooc: Office for the Protection of the Church and its State) have devised a plan by which we will be gradually reducing our dependence of Clysperi oil with the complete phasing out by the end of this decade. That gives our refineries ample time to make the adjustments, it is also slow enough as to not create a panic in the market and is also gradual enough to allow your kingdom to find other clients and not endanger the development of your kingdom.  We also like to assure you that this strategy will be discrete and never publicly acknowledged by the government as to not create needless public tensions.

In Mundus we have often seen critical decisions being taken without any regard for the consequences and without consulting the affected parties. A recent example of this was the announcement of the Rokkenjiman monarch that they will be issuing sanctions against our holy kingdom inducing panic in our business environment. Following the announcement, I have had dozens of company CEOs calling and asking what the exact sanctions were, when will they be applied and if there were any exemptions. One particular CEO threatened that if I do not find a solution he will fire all married women employees so that he can be compliant with the Rokkenjiman diktat. What could I tell them? That we had just found out about it ourselves? OPCS has called the Rokkenjiman actions in their regular security reports “economic terrorism” aimed at destabilizing the Samantran economy and its relations with its foreign clients. I do not want Your Majesty to go through something like that that is why I am telling you the news face to face and have put forward the gradual phasing out plan that takes into consideration the needs of both your kingdom and the holy kingdom.

That is our perspective and where we stand. I am more than interested to hear Your Majesty’s point of view. ”

[Beatrice]

Akasha reached into her handbag and produced a vial, holding it so that the sunlight may shine through it, producing a green colour. "Clysperi Grade Sweet Crude, often called liquid emerald by our predecessors because of the colour it reflects through the sun, thermally stable, free of asphalt and containing only trace amounts of sulfur and nitrogen. It may be broken down into gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, gas oil, wax distillate, cylinder stock amongst other refined products like white oil and paraffin. In more modern times it has been sought after for these qualities as you know, not all crude is the same, and the sweeter the more valued it is. Why, Clysperi Grade is part of the reason why Samantran refineries can produce both gasoline and prized lubricants without great cost or inconvenience in the process. With all that being said, it is quite a gesture to offer it even one cent less than its value, let alone at a 10% discount."

"At the end of the day Samantra's disputes with the Holy Empire are between your states," she continued. "Relationships between the Kingdom and other states are purely bilateral affairs and just as I did not allow the Tamoran Empire to determine with whom Clysperis would do business with neither shall I allow the Holy Empire to do so. Especially as the Kingdom continues its economic growth existing trade relationships are valued, and as such I would propose an alternative. As an act of friendship the Kingdom shall continue to maintain the present discount as promised and, as an act of reassurance, shall accord to Samantra permanent preferred trading status ensuring that these scenarios shall not come to pass. Maintaining current chains of supply shall, ultimately, prove more cost-effective for both of us as time passes and, as additional capacity comes online in Clysperis perhaps our present discount arrangement may become something which can be maintained on a permanent basis."

"You've also concerns about other OPEN producers," Akasha continued, "the Tamorans for obvious reasons but one can see the shift in certain circles in their leniency toward forms of servitude no matter what form they take. One only need to look back to the Midaranye Games to see the controversy centred around not just Tamora, but also Royal Seleucid, for their use of indentured servitude. The voices aligned against the Seleucid in that regard won't grow dimmer but have every potential to grow louder as time goes on eventually bringing the same measures we've seen in relation to Tamora."

"I have heard your concerns and perspective and have offered those of my own, in addition to measures to calm any concerns which may be held. Given that, I am interested if your perspectives are capable of adjustment."

[Markus]

Yeva did not comment on the special Clysperi crude oil, all nations that export oil praise their oil and for good reason but Yeva wasn’t looking to start a contest which oil was better.

“I am not looking to include your kingdom into our dispute with the Achkaerin but at the same time realities cannot be ignored, Your Majesty. You yourself have sanctioned nations that in the past have sanctioned Tamora. You did that in order to help an ally. If relations between Achkaerin and us further deteriorate we are in a vulnerable position.

I appreciate the permanent preferred trading status proposal and before I ask for details I would first say that it raises new concerns. Not so long ago you have seized Tamoran assets overnight. So what is permanent today can change tomorrow. What if God forbid Your Majesty is no longer on the throne tomorrow? We have no guarantee the permanent status would be maintained” Yeva was polite enough to make up the excuse with Akasha not being on the throne but she was more concerned if Akasha changed her mind.

“I think you may have mistaken our position with that of the current international order. We detest slavery, of course but we do not let the domestic policies of a state affect our energy security. We wish to cut our dependence from Tamora because they have entered in what seems a period of isolation and that raises concerns for us and the international sanctions placed on them makes trade difficult. We have not sanctioned the Tamoran Empire and we consider the Emirate of Royal Seleucid to be a reliable partner. We have no intentions to reduce our imports from the Emirate”. As she said that Yeva admitted to herself that Akasha’s point was a good one even if not exactly on spot in the case of Samantra. It would seem Talya Samarin, the CEO of Umarov Real Estate Trust, who had negotiated before with Akasha was right. There was more to this woman that just her social media account and underestimating her would be a mistake.

Yeva did not want to sound like she was stonewalling Akasha, she appreciated the effort to negotiate.

“Your Majesty, we have been honest so far even if there is serious disagreement between our positions so I will continue to be so even if what I will say may not be pleasant. There is little trust between us, Your Majesty. Your decisions of seizing Tamoran assents makes us think you could do the same to us should you decide that is required by your national interest. If I were to guess that is why some of your neighbors are a bit reluctant to heavily invest in Clysperis. Your extremely close relationship with Achkaerin is a liability for us. Should you change your mind or as I said, God forbid, for whatever reason you will no longer be on the throne and another CLysperi Pharaoh comes we could end up with oil cut and assets frozen. That is why our companies are reluctant to invest too much and as a state we are prudent and want to reduce our dependence on your oil.

If we are to come to some sort of compromise that I need to see some sort of agreement in which your side also stands to lose if the agreement is broken. If you are willing to put some skin in the game then I believe we could reach a compromise and one that could see more, much more Samatran investments coming to Clysperis. I understand you want to your new city to become an international financial hub, we can help and much more.“ Yeva added trying to show that there was willingness on the Samantran side for real negotiations and that she was not only asking for Akasha to compromise. 

“So what is Your Kingdom willing to put at stake for a compromise to be reached?”

[Beatrice]

"Scenarios surrounding the Tamorans and Achkaerinese aren't entirely comparable to each other. Both are vastly different states, the foundations upon which relations between each and the Kingdom are based upon are different, and one had to see certain assets seized due to the practices of servitude and slavery, institutions which stand in direct opposition to human dignity. While I appreciate the necessity to look for patterns based on such histories the two examples in this case are not quite compatible, nor do they serve as a meaningful guide as to Clysperi actions in the future. The Kingdom acts upon its own volition."

"Aside from Setri it will be necessary for other facilities, namely those in Takha, Nafu and Nebi to be modernized and, in some cases, built anew to handle the needs of a more global Clysperi economy. This includes an international airport in Takha, a new high-capacity port in Nafu, and a rail hub in Nebi to facilitate efficient transport of goods and materials from the Clysperi Economic Zone and the rest of the Kingdom. I would propose that Samantran companies be selected to build these pieces of infrastructure while collecting most of the operating revenue for a term of no less than fifty years, to be extended or recognized as unnecessary at the mutual agreement of our Governments upon conclusion of that 50 year period. The portion of operating revenue which would be the right of the Kingdom would be held in escrow, with payments being released to the Kingdom at the end of each decade. Should the Kingdom act in bad faith toward these Samantran enterprises or Samantra itself, the entirety of the escrow would be forfeit by the Kingdom."

"Samantra would thus continue its projects in Setri and commit to maintaining purchases of oil and gas from the Kingdom at a level no lower than the present. It is my hopes that, as we near that 50 year mark, our nations will come to a recognition that we may, perhaps, be able to trust each other without such stakes being necessary. Naturally if you have something in mind which I may have overlooked I would be interested in taking your input onboard."

[Markus]

“Such infrastructure projects are wonderful opportunities but they also cost a fortune and are risky, Your Majesty. If the projects don’t yield the expected results they could easily turn into a money pit. Not to mention it takes years to build them. I do however understand that this proposal shows that Your Majesty values our business partnership and from our perspective shows that there is willingness to accommodate our concerns. ”

Yeva paused for a couple of moments before resuming:

“I think we can make this work if Your Majesty is willing to also offer us the following concession. We would like for 10% of oil and gas payments to your kingdom to be moved to the escrow account up until an amount that is equal to 10% of yearly oil and gas purchases is reached. The money will be gradually released to your government as payments start coming from the infrastructure projects but will not go below that 10% of yearly oil and gas purchases. This means that we start having a monetary guarantee from day one and do not remain exposed until the infrastructure projects start making money.

We will of course ask for this escrow account to be held in a Samantran bank of your choosing or at our central bank.   

In return we agree to your terms to maintaining purchases of oil and gas from the Kingdom at a level no lower than the present and we will recommend to our companies that the Clysperi business environment is one that is safe for investing which will see our companies continue to invest in Setri.

Does Your Majesty agree? “