First Minister Darijus Laine has returned, along with Crown Prince Kārlis, from a tri-nations meeting in Waddan. The meeting entitled "Protecting Soviet Borders" was hosted by the Sultan of Waddan and attended by representatives of the Theocracy of Kaitaine and the First Minister. Over the course of the talks the First Minister explained several things were discussed but all nations saw fit to conclude an arrangement which feel short of a mutual defence pact. While the foreign treaty will require Royal Ascent this is a mere formality as First Minister Laine enjoys a majority in the Chamber of the People. Speaking at Tartu Airport upon his return home the First Minister stated. "Our monarch knows only too well the dangers of Soviet occupation and I know King Kārlis will recognise the value of this arrangement. Today we have sent a clear message that we will not permit those over the border to present problems for our people. The agreement means we shall keep each other posted of intelligence we gather and we will help each other hone our armed forces so that they can be in peak condition to, if required, defend our borders."

The agreement even gained the support of the leader of the Three Leopards Party, Luule Koppel, who traditionally have opposed much of the First Minister's policies. Miss Koppel stated, "I believe strongly this is exactly the kind of arrangement that we here in Chistopol need. We are a nation that defeated the Soviets and it is only right that those who border this evil are prepared to repel it. I would have liked him to have gone further and utilised this as an anti-Communist alliance that one day will drive into Rodina and Kaitaine, returning the whole of Kaitaine to the Bene Gesserit who in this short time have proven to be valued neighbours. That though can maybe come in the months and years ahead. I will be instructed our members to vote in favour of giving this treaty Royal Ascent and would consider anyone who does not to be an enemy of Chistopol."

Later in the day news from Clysperis' Pharaoh though asked why they had not been part of the talks having been at one time occupied by the Soviets. First Minister Laine explained, "The guest list was drawn up by the Sultan of Waddan, with the talks being entitled "Protecting Soviet Borders" and Clysperis today being over 1000km and a whole nation removed from that border they would not qualify. The Pharoah however talks of being battle tested against the Soviets yet casts disrespect on our own nation. Our own King lead us to victory over the Soviets as part of the King's Royal Rangers. Following his success he spent the next 18 years in uniform ensuring the safe borders of our nation. Now should the Pharoah wish actual co-operation in regards to anti-Soviet stances she will find my government entirely interested. That agreement though would look very different to one that involves those of us who sit cheek by jowl with the Soviets. Also it is important to note that this is not the first interaction between our three nations, we were instrumental in helping the Theocracy find their place in the world, we have agreements with Waddan regarding trade of materials and I am aware that the Theocracy have supported the engagement of education in Waddan. It is therefore only natural the three of us would walk a path towards closer co-operation. Meanwhile Clysperis still sits outside this group of friends. Should the Pharoah wish to come and visit Tartu she'll find an open door if she comes with an acceptance that her nations achievements are not to dissimilar than those who have already meet."

It is not known whether this offer will be taken up however.

Crown Prince Karlis responded before First Minister Laine could. "I believe the crown of Chistopol would be delighted to sign this." He handed the piece of paper to his nations elected leader.

Laine was half tempted to say that his agreement was unacceptable but he'd spent most of the day helping shape it but now he would be forced to simply rubber stamp what this fool had said. "I think that the document we've got here is something every loyal citizen of Chistopol could get behind." Laine put the document back on the Sultan's table. "I think we have an agreement." He said as he sat back.

Laine was at least going to perhaps get some access to cheaper resources. "I am happy to hear we could soon be enjoying access to your retrieved minerals, however I perhaps see a problem for you. You're a nation that has no machinery for such a process and if the Corrino's are the ones to undertake the extraction then they will need to start from scratch and as such its got to come from somewhere. Naturally that somewhere should be Chistopol. Now while you remove things like taxes on our purchases of minerals and things like gas I can do likewise on heavy plant machinery. Any Theocracy business buying heavy plant machines from a business in Chistopol will be exempt from any sales tax. This should make our companies equipment an exciting proposition especially as it won't have to transfer as long a distance as say from Ui Cenneslaig to Chistopol, pay entrance taxes and then transit to you. I think we're making some good progress. Perhaps we should summarise where we have agreed so far and then consider our next moves.

1. Any Bene Gesserit in possession of a biometric ID card issued by a Chapterhouse is permitted to cross the border between the Theocracy and Chistopol freely. This includes escorting members of her immediate family she can prove the identity of.

2. There shall be no permission given for someone to make more than one crossing of the border in either direction within 24 hours unless prior arrangement is made.

3. Anyone crossing the border in either direction is liable to security checks as either nation deems appropriate.

4. For the next five years no food products or agricultural products crossing from Chistopol into Kaitaine will be subject to tariffs.

5. No Chistopol company purchasing raw materials or fuels in Kaitaine shall be subject to local taxes so long as those purchases are removed to Chistopol

6. No Kaitaine company purchasing machinery in Chistopol shall be subject to local taxes so long as those purchases are removed to Kaitaine.

"So what would you see us add?"

Laine couldn't help but smile, Kaitaine would allow Chistopol to export food south tariff free, as though it was doing Chistopol a massive favour, in truth he suspected that Kaitaine needed the food and thus the tariff free measures were simply a way of ensuring prices stayed as low as possible. That didn't matter though as it would certainly help the agricultural industry of Chistopol. He therefore wasn't going to make a comment on the irony. "I'd be grateful for the opportunity to have our farmers have a new open market, I'm sure you'll find the quality they produce excellent. As for your future industry perhaps with all that space and mineral oppurtunities you'd consider a partnership with some of our companies. We've an industry that would be easily transferable and I think you'd see the benefits."

To His Majesty Sultan Yahya IV of Waddan

Our nation knows only too well the horrors of occupation by the Soviets. This is a fate that we would wish no nation to go through. While we believe the chances of a repeat of the invasions and threats of the past are minute we are also of the belief that it would be an astute move to meet with others who share our mistrust of the Soviet neighbours. I would therefore be delighted to meet with you, and the others you have contacted. With that in mind I eagerly look forward to visiting your nation.

Best Regards

First Minister Laine.

First Minister Laine had not appreciated the bigger numbers of the wider diaspora. "Should just a quarter of your faithful head towards us we begin to see problems. In the meantime I think we could agree to the use of the ID cards you have mentioned but I would insist on limiting border crossings from Chistopol to the theocracy and back each day. As such I propose that a booking system would be needed. We would grant permission for anyone with one of your ID's to cross with just security checks on what they carry when they cross. We would limit the number of crossings per day to ensure our staff don't become overwhelmed. We would also need to consider the manner in which imports and exports cross this frontier, we are likely to be the only corridor of trade you have for sometime, we need to ensure our ports for example don't become clogged with your goods. I know at present you are not a large manufacturer so how is your economy focusing?"

The Kingdom of Chistopol has no intention of constructing aircraft carriers anytime in the near future. We therefore have no use of a carrier capable fighter however should the proposed design be capable of land based operations on comparable terms to other land based multi-role fighters then we would be extremely interested in contributing to this programme.

We look forward to your updates on the project.

First Minister Laine.

The kindest thing you could say about Vastemõisa was that it was a short drive through it. The village was home to around 80 families and a lot of pear orchids. Many of the homes had plaster peeling off the walls and some still had bullet holes pox marking them despite the battles here being over at least fifty years ago. It did however have a rather nice old estate house that today served as a kind of administrative post for the military in the area. Since the establishment of the Theocracy the village had seen a huge increase in traffic as people ventured out towards the newest nation on Mundus. Even as King Kārlis had ventured here by helicopter he had ordered them to fly close to the border so he could see the crossing point and even today a few cars were sat waiting to cross over. In the King's mind he created a story of some Chistopolian born Bene Gesserit with a car packed with their belongings heading to what they saw as their ancestral homeland. The story made him happy that this family would be getting their dream fulfilled, but he was disappointed that they were vacating the nation he saw as home.

As the King's aircraft landed he was greeted by First Minister Darijus Laine. While the King was the figurehead it would be Laine who would have the ultimate responsibility to make an agreements with the Theocracy. The pair shared an uneasy respect. Laine knew that Kārlis was responsible for giving the nation its freedom and had given up a significant portion of royal power when he possibly hadn't needed to. What Laine struggled with was the rest of Kārlis' family, the future monarchy were not freedom fighters, they'd all been too young but retained a sense of entitlement about their station in life. Laine was already in his mind thinking how once Kārlis had died he would look to remove the monarchy all together. He offered the aging King a supporting arm but the bald headed King waved him away and was content to move forward on his single walking stick. They two exchanged pleasantries and entered the house. The Commanding Officer of the General Staff here had vacated his office and replaced his desk with a round table, he had thought that best for a diplomatic meeting. The Major saluted the King and ensured the two men had everything they'd need for the meeting and satisfied everything was in order retired to his duties checking rotas, moving supplies and organising patrols while the two politicans waited for the Bene Gesserit.

Karlis senior thought for a moment or two but it was his youngest son, Prince Motiejus, who began the response. "I have a suggestion. You are a nation with various religious orders and we have our Spearman of the Dievasian Order, a cermonial but religious order." The Prince was a member and the group were limited to just 60 living members. It carried out various ceremonial duties and was a key part of the faith of the nation. "I would like to propose perhaps a joint spiritual area. We could perhaps have a kind of garden, I know your faith places a great emphasis on nature. We could have several buildings for education and recreation, and two residential units allowing our faiths to have visits there and conduct exchanges. What do you think?"

The Kingdom of Chistopol request membership of CETO.

Should we be admitted the Grand University of Tartu shall be our appointed institute and Professor Ain Rebane shall be our appointed Professor.

Since the Tartu Accords were signed just 24 hours ago there has already been scenes at the border of people trying to cross into what many are now calling the Theocracy of Kaitaine. The new Accord will see the West of the neighbouring nation of Kaitaine effectively become a new nation under the control of the Bene Gesserit faith. Currently there are an estimated 12 million members of the Bene Gesserit faith located in Chistopol with communities here being able to trace their history back around 800 years. With the Soviet occupation of first Kaitaine and then Chistopol many members of the faith went into hiding, some around Mundus while others simply kept their faith hidden in Chistopol. With the Communists defeated in Chistopol the faith made a reappearence and December 2020 the faith opened a huge library in the capital of Tartu. As part of the arrangement an air corridor between the Theocracy and Chistopol will be established. The news of the Theocracy being established though has seen some members of the faith attempting to cross the border already. Long lines had formed at the border which had always been heavily fortified because of threats from the Communist south. Estimates from this publication saw around 1,500 people trying to cross the border and it is thought many more will be coming in the next few days. The move has lead to First Minister Laine appealing for patience.

"We have an unprecedented situation. We have potentially several thousand individuals attempting to cross a border which we have intentionally created to not be passable. We designed our side of the border there to repulse tanks if need be. The systems and infrastructure that may exist between a border for say Ui Cenneslaig and Cantabria just aren't in place. It will take us days to get people processed on our side and then naturally the authorities in the West of Kaitaine must do likewise and they start from nothing. I appeal for people not to make the journey yet, consider your move as the long term security can not be confirmed and the availability of homes, services and other daily needs is not yet clear. People need to ideally stay where they are and give time. We do not naturally want people to move to Kaitaine but I can understand the desire. Anyone making this trip needs to be patient at the border."

Long lines had formed and with a lack of catering or rest-room facilities many families began to swarm towards the border in an effort to quickly get across. It was estimated that a total of around 500 successfully crossed however some bedded down for the night in their cars.

King Karlis made a noticably different statement from First Minister Laine. The First Minister was careful in all of his statements to not use the word "Theocracy" however the King said clearly. "I am always saddened to see people migrate away from a land we fought so hard for to remove Communists from. Now as these people head to the Theocracy they do so guided by their faith but I am sad to see them go. There has been and could be a rich tradition of the Bene Gesserit faith here in Chistopol however with the faithful leaving they are missing an opportunity to spread their contribution. I naturally wish to Theocracy well and having fought my own actions against the Communist I tip my hat to the bravery and guile of the Truthsayers."

Talks are expected to happen at some point in the future between the leadership of the "Theocracy" and Chistopol about future arrangements.

"We have brunch arranged at the Palace." Kārlis IV confirmed to Đurađ. "Its a rather humble home compared to some of the major palaces in Mundus, the palaces at Northfort would consider this a lodge I think but we like it." Following the victory over the communists many of the great buildings of state had either been destroyed or Kārlis had handed them piece by piece over to the state. The awaiting cars took the royals out from the national airport towards the countryside. The Royal Palace sat out on the countryside that surrounded Tartu, it had been that way as the royals had pulled back from day to day involvement in the countryside and now the family enjoyed some of the more lesuirely past-times of the countryside while using their estate to largely become financially independent. As they approached the Palace they headed through farms that were growing rape seed ready to be turned into biofuel, further up the hill were vineyards growing grapes for the families wine and in the woods close to the Palace wild game was being encouraged to provide meat for the events at the Palace but also to help support the luxury food company the family had established. The Palace from the outside looked like it needed some sprucing up with some of the paint on the wood needing a touch up. Kārlis liked the place though and he hoped his guests did too. With it now being a rather decent spring morning the King had arranged for brunch, a light meal of various small dishes of potato cakes, cheeses and cured meats to be served on one of the towers that overlooked the farmland below them.

The King had invited the others from the royal family, Crown Prince Kārlis, his sons Prince Oļegs and Prince Motiejus and his grand=daughter Lady Viktoras. They made up the senior royals with Lady Vikoras infact being the equivalent of the Royal Matron, a position similar to that of a Queen in terms of being the most senior female royal. The group settled down now the First Minister had left them to their royal visit and the cionverseration could begin in ernest. "Now my son says you had some ideas for our two crowns becoming firm friends. Would you care to share those with us?"

Born in 1985 in the southern boarder town of Aranküla she was born into a political family. Her grand-father Heino Koppel founded the Three Leopards Party and is considered somewhat of a nationalist icon. Heino was one of several military officers who following the defeat of the Communists formed the Three Leopards who undertook efforts to carry out revenge attacks on suspected Communist sympathises who had escaped justice in a series of amnesties. In 1968 Heino was arrested for several murders and imprisoned however in a further amnesty he was released and reformed the group as a political party. He turned the party into a minor political force until his resignation from politics in 1997. The party had several other leaders however Heino's own children showed little interest in politics other than supporting their father at rallies. Luule was born in 1985 to Heino's son Mart who had married another Three Leopards leader's daughter, Marina Schnoka.

Luule grew up on the families Orchid where she often helped her retired grand-father make pear cider. She was excluded from school in 1995 for taking a bottle of the cider into school and sharing it with three of her friends. The incident made her grand-father extremely angry and he essentially took over her education and imposed strict discipline upon her.

In 1997 Luule's father Mart ran for the Chamber of the People in the neighbouring town of Kalevi however didn't get elected. The family moved soon after to the capital when Luule's father got a job teaching at an agricultural college. This meant that Luule began to no longer be home schooled by her grand-father. She was considered an average student but excelled at sport and joined the Youth Pioneers not long after moving to the capital. She soon rose through the ranks of the scout like youth group and seemed intent on joining the military.

In 2002 her grand-father died in bomb blast at a ceremony to commemorate the foundation of the Three Leopards. The perpatrators were members of the Communist Party that the Three Leopoards had just successfully petitioned to have banned and excluded from Chistopol politics. The assassins have never been captured and this was one of the things that spurred Luule into taking an interest in the party to try and ensure the Communists could never come back to Chistopol.

In 2003 she began studying History and Politics at Tartu University and stood for the Student Council there earning one of the three seats avaliable. She split her time between student politics and her degree work. Her primary campaigns during this time focused on supporting social mobility in rural areas and anti-communist ideas. In her final year of University she stood for election as Student Council Leader for the nation however polled only 22% of the national vote.

Upon leaving University in 2006 she got involved in national politics by being an aide to several sitting members of the Three Leopards Party. Her connection to the legendary founder of the party went a long way to helping her make progress. In 2009 she stood for election for the first time in the very nationalistic town of Mälivere and won the seat with ease. She was successful in helping the party grow its youth wing and in 2010 masterminded the campaign that saw the party have its candidate for leader of the Student Council succeed in getting elected. In 2015 she challenged for leadership of the party and won easily. That same year in National elections she switched her seat from Mälivere to the less than safe one of her hometown of Aranküla and was successful swinging the seat away from the Chistopol Unity Party. She has been successful in targetting seats in by-elections for her party and has now ensured the party has passed the 5% threshold needed to be able to contribute potential legislation on "Opposition Days".

Luule is not married however has been in a long term relationship with Henri Kallaste who is a historian who works for The Dievasian Order, the nations largest religious group. The pair have been together since 2014 when they meet during Henri's research into a book about Luule's grand-father.

Luule Koppel, the leader of the political party "The Three Leopards" has today announced that at next weeks "Opposition Day" in the Chamber of the People she will table a motion to end the compulsory teaching of Gaelic in Chistopolian schools. The Three Leopards Party are described by many as being right leaning and advocate a removal of all connections to the days of occupation by the Communists from Kaitaine and the USR. One of these legacies was the influx of so called "technical experts" who were put in charge of key aspects of Chistopol's infrastructure such as Police, Electric Power Stations and even Hospitals. As such during this time Gaelic became an important language within Chistopol as most of these "experts" were from Kaitaine. This resulted in around 40 years of schools teaching Gaelic to ensure that Chistopolians could engage with the occupiers. This process is what Miss Koppel, grand-daughter of her parties founder Heino Koppel, has described as "Linguistic Genocide". The 39 year old politician controls 6% of the People's Chamber and is therefore allowed to submit one motion for debate. This will be time limited to an hour after which a vote will be taken to consider the motion during a full session of the People's Chamber, the first step towards a change in the law. Miss Koppel has explained during a press conference the need for this change. "Chistopol is a a nation that our First Minister would have you believe is rebuilding and regaining its strength. Any part of a nations strength is its cultural identity and that must be protected. We see Gaelic, a language not native to our lands, being spoken in schools, at the bus stop and even on TV. While the Communists would have us think they were striving to make Chistopol a place of equality their language genocide created a two tier system. Those considered the elite speaking Gaelic and those of us left below our own language. Today that continues. First Minister Darijus Laine took control in 2016 and has done nothing to dismantle this system, if anything it has become worse as his educational policy gives everyone four years of Gaelic education before making it a subject continued only by those considered the "academic elite". A language serves to allow people to communicate and if the so called Academic Elite are speaking one language then they do not communicate with the rest of society openly. It is my belief that Gaelic as a compulsory language must be dropped and our own tongue taught as the only language within our school system. We have seen globally the way nations have re-birthed their own language, East Moreland being a prime example, but we instead are still clinging to this elitist babble."

The proposal is likely to get strong support from the Dievasian Party who represent the religious communities of Chistopol. This party is lead by Margarita Koppel (no relation) and places an emphasis on the promotion of tradition faith based values, among them reading the sacred texts in the language they were written. Margarita Koppel's party control 8% of the Chamber of the People meaning that even if they combine with the Three Leopards they will only have 14% of the votes towards the motion. Margarita has though publicly supported the motion saying, "Our nation faced the attempted eradication of the Dievasian Faith and thankfully we survived. Today the worship of our native faiths account for 80% of our population with those following our path making up 35% of the entire nation. Nothing would bring me more joy than to see young people reading the texts in our own language. We will be supporting Luule's proposal and hope in turn she will support ours." The exact wording of the Dievasian Parties motion for "Opposition Day" has not yet been revealed but it is expected that it will call on the inclusion of oaths to at least one of the three tribes of Gods recognised as native to Chistopol when taking a position within the Chamber of the People or joining the military. This has been proposed before however First Minister  Laine believed last time it was proposed that it would "do more harm than good." explaining this by saying, "Over centuries our three faiths fought against each other determined to show the tribe they followed was most important or more powerful, that only they had the true path to paradise. Bringing religion back as a factor in our institutions such as the military and government make it more likely this tribalism that goes along often with religion can regrow. We are a nation currently united as never before and as such we should embrace the fact that each of these three native faiths are brothers and sisters to each other, a family, rather than driving wedges between ourselves."

Opposition Day happens every three months and gives each of the five minor parties the chance to introduce a motion to the Chamber of the People. A strict 30 minutes is given to present the motion and then a strict 1 hour debate time limit is set after which a ballot is taken, not on whether the motion should become law but rather on should the motion be given a full debate in the Chamber of the People. Any gaining a majority of votes are then turned into full proposals and must be considered formally within six weeks of the initial introduction. Very few Opposition Day motions have ever progressed to become fully fledged laws and generally are used by the opposition party leaders as a way of creating nationwide debates or taking advantage of government blunders or perceived weaknesses.

It is not yet known what the Liberal Party, Republican Party or Green Party are likely to put forward as there proposals.

"In terms of the humanitarian crisis what is the situation presently, in terms of homeless, displaced, food supplies and the like. Furthermore to the best of your ability how do you think this conflict would come to an end if it wasn't for mediation?"