The Alliance of the Eagle & the Lion, taking the next stepKundrati & Luthori are taking the next bold step in their alliance towards deeper cooperation, development for common security in Artania and their shared sea, the goal: not relying on outside powersLuthorian and Kundrai diplomats reach an accord on deeper cooperationMay 5379Fort William, Duchy of Orange – This morning the Imperial Foreign Office released a joint statement with the Kundrati government on expanding the scope and cooperation of the 150 year old alliance between the two powers. Both nations will now commit to expanding their military capabilities much further, especially their naval capabilities to achieve strategic independence from any other power for the defence of their region. The news came shortly after Beiteynu announced their desire to depart the region and to focus more on building up their allies and cooperate with Kundrati and Luthori on an equal basis.
History of the allianceFor nearly 150 years the Holy Luthorian Empire and the Kundrati Union have been allies. This alliance was not an easily forged one as it came after a dark period of conflict and competition. However through tedious diplomatic maneauvering and shifting geopolitical aims the two rivals ended their long standing rivalry and shifted that relation into a working alliance and a friendly rivalry. However after 150 years the two nations are finally ready to take the next step in their alliance and seek to cooperate further for the common defence of their shared sea border, airspace and landholdings.
Alliance with disagreementsIt is well known Luthori and Kundrati didn’t see eye to eye on everything, especially the Beikun Fleet remained a thorn in the side of the Empire. It was one of the discussion points between the Luthorians and the Yeudi’s when they also signed a historic alliance and partnership agreement with them. The Imperial Government’s aim has always been to get the fleet out of their hair, as they see it as a threat to their national sovereignty and a tool to shift the balance of power between the two rival nations. However the Imperial Government had to concede that the historic importance of the fleet to the security of the Kundrati people, especially after the conflict with Luthori and their conflict with Dorvik, made the topic unsolveable for the near future. To that end the topic was never pushed.
Taking the next stepBut this did not mean the Imperial Government didn’t keep talks with both its partners to get the Beikun fleet removed. As the power of the Kundrati Union and the Holy Luthorian Empire grew so did the confidence of the Yeudi government in Yishelem grow in their capabilities. At trilateral talks between all three governments agreed on how to take the next step in the alliance. The Luthorian and Kundrati governments will, jointly with the Beiteynu government, invest in increasing the capabilities of their naval prowess and increases their cooperation in the Artanian Sea. Both nations will also work closer together of issues relating to regional stability and peace. The goal was explained by the spokesperson to the Foreign Secretary who said that ‘’with the help of Beiteynu and mutual cooperation between Kundrati and Luthori, we can increase our fleet even further, train our navy and learn from them as we did learn from Dorvik and Beiteynu during the Malivian crisis and increase our strength, this has always been a strategic goal, as it will allow us to move us closer to aiding and strengthening our Commonwealth friends as well!’’.
The focus of the new agreement and deeper cooperation will be to reduce the Yeudi permanent commitment to the Artainian theatre where Luthori and Kundrati operate and hand over their responsibility gradually to said nations. The Luthorian and Kundrati navies will in the mean time be upgraded, trained and expanded. The Yeudi fleet will on occasions join military exercises and joint missions but not keep an independent presence in the area. This means that the Beikun fleet will gradually be disbanded, a deep desired wish by Luthori without losing the defence Kundrati and to a lesser extent Luthori counted on. The move also allows the Luthorian and Kundrati navies to aid its allies more globally than before. A deep desired wish from Luthori as they see their future with their Commonwealth of Luthorian Nations, a global economic and cultural union of various Luthorian speaking nations.
Success of Diplomacy and long-game strategy over brute forceThe move of Beiteynu, Luthori and Kundrati has caused some tension in the region as the Kingdom of Dorvik called the move of a carrier fleet into the Artanian sea a red line, threatening to ‘’sink’’ the ship. The Yeudi’s promptly responded to said threat on their own. When asked for a comment the Luthorian foreign secretary said:
Obviously there must have been a misunderstanding in Haldor. We however cannot understand why a power would threaten war over this, what has that ever solved? And as if they can sink it that easily, it would spiral into a war no one wants. It is also a lack of trust in Luthori’s capabilities. We have shown with this increased partnership that we can hold up our own pants. This is a huge victory for Luthorian diplomacy over brute force and threat. Everyone is a winner, thanks in part to us, we achieved what others wanted but could not get done, the removal of the Beikun fleet!
The Foreign Secretary was then asked more on the recent tariffs placed by Dorvik on the Luthorian automobile industry:
That will be addressed, we will talk with Haldor on a reasonable solution as we have always done with them, though their unreasonable and unfair tariffs are a thorn in our side and feel as a betrayel in a time of trouble for us. But I rather focus on what we have achieved today than talk about Dorvik. Today we celebrate a great partnership between nations who do treat each other as equals and not as underlings. We also are happy that the Yeudi government stood by us when we had internal troubles and didn’t ditch us for economic gain. Open and Global Luthori works as a foreign policy! We will stand on our own two feet, meet the world and stand for stability together with our Kundrati allies!
Our newspaper has asked various analysts to analyse the historic agreement between the three nations, the recent comments made by Dorvik and Beiteynu towards each other and the words of the Foreign Secretary. We asked Professor Mark Blanagan of the Orange University to give us his analyses on the whole situation:
Well it is clear that Luthori and Kundrati feel more confident in themselves, not weird they have become quite the regional players, with Kundrati taking a place in the Security Council of the World Congress and Luthori quite successfully building up alliances and their commonwealth, not to forget that both parties came to Malivia’s aid. The two powers want to stand on their own feet and through this partnership they hope to do that. This also comes after a military deal signed between Kundrati and Luthori on military production, so they are ready to put actions behind their words. These powers want to be their own man, and who can blame them?’’ The annalyst then continued to annalyse the comments made by the Foreign Secretary and other world powers: ‘’The comment made by the Foreign Secretary are a clear sign of trying to capitalise on the political success of this deal, you see Luthori wants to showcase that it’s not an old imperialist power, they have done so over the years, and the removal of the Beikun Fleet through diplomacy instead of Dorvik’s threats seems like a good indication of Luthori and Kundrati’s growing status and skill in easing relations and conducting diplomacy, a clear shift in power. Brute force doesn’t always work is the clear message and often makes situations unnecessarily tense. The Imperial Government hopes to use this success and solidy their foreign policy with this, internally and externally.
The Imperial Government has announced that it will keep negotiating with both Yishelem and Kasaema to work out the details of the plan and set the whole thing in motion. Truly this is a victory for diplomacy as it showcases that historic rivalries can be ended and turned into vast friendships and alliances.