NationStates Jolt Archive

Lau sat in the stately conference room at one end of a long table nervously fidgeting with her pen. Moscow was an interesting city to say the least, but she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in some ways. Maybe it was the heavily armed police everywhere, maybe it was Putin's dictatorial style, but whatever it was it gave her the creeps.

She looked over the brief that the Hudecian diplomatic corps had prepared for her about Putin, a man she had never met before. She stared at the provided photos for a moment, wondering if this Putin was as handsome as the photos made him out to be.

There were many things on the agenda today on this brief visit, but Lau would have to prioritize.

bump for AC

Putin strode in confidently, flanked by a Praetorian guard of Black Scarves. They quicky scanned the massive, black marble room, despite the fact that Hudecian and Russian teams had scanned it exhaustively minutes before. Putin sighed, but realized that the Black Scarves were, after all, only looking out for his own safety.

"Appears clear, sir." said Chikara, a harsh, Asiatic man.
"Thank you."

He strode in, clad in his trademark black trenchcoat, his light orange hair finely combed and his carved out of stone jaw bearing no expression. He smiled upon seeing the Hudecian President, and kissed the woman's hand politely. He had to admit that she was quite beautiful, but it was only a mental footnote added to the endless array of facts he had memorized about her in preperation for the conference.

Perhaps if he was younger (he was now past 40. OOC: I changed the age since we decided there was going to be no affair, and since he's going to die, I thought it'd be nicer to give him some more years of life), perhaps if cancer was not about to devour his life (actually, this was untrue, for the cancer was a fraud and his own life would be ended in a much more violent way, but of course he did not know this), perhaps he would have been tempted by this exotically beautiful young woman whose boldness, intelligence, and yes, conservative politics shone out of her eyes. (Or perhaps he was just transfixing those features from previous knowledge into those shining eyes), But fate had made their first meeting now, when it was too late for Putin to give up his anti-sex and anti-love principles.

So he sat down, and began to speak.

"Madam, I hope you enjoyed Moscow. I apologize for the tight security, but the recent wave of Mafiya and Baltic terrorism, including the attack on my life, has forced me to declare martial law. Things seem to be calming down though, and luckily the Russian people have weathered through without much complaint. We are a hardy and enduring people of course, but it is partly because they trust me so much. I'm explaining this largely because the Hudecian media has recently taken to calling my style of ruling 'dictatorial', which is absurd. I simply have, oddly enough, extremely high approval ratings at the time. Would you call FDR dictatorial? Please deliver that message to the people, Mr.---err, I mean, Mrs., no, I uh, Ms. President. Now, onto business."

He pulled out a large array of papers in front of him, and tossed them onto the desk.

"As host, I shall begin. Firstly, I'd like to thank Hudecia for its support in the Russian civil war. The Russian people know little of this, of course, as it was President MacNally's---God rest his soul---wish to keep it secret, but I have eternal gratitude for both Hudecia and her late President. Secondly, I would like to discuss the economic embargoes on Russia by Hudecia. While, honestly, Hudecia is not much of a trading partner (largely because we export similiar things), Russia feels that free trade is critical to the world economy as a whole, and wishes for the embargoes to be dropped. I have some other things to mention as well, but this should be enough for a start..."

*BUMP for da Beaver in this oddly time twisting RP*

Bump

"Thank you for allowing me to visit Mr. Putin, I greatly appreciate your time."

"Concerning the embargoes, it is the view of the Hudecian Parliament that the embargoes will remain in place until the issues involving the independence of the Baltic states is resolved."

"Hudecian Parliament is greatly concerned that the current movements by the Russian government have created a climate in your nation that would potentially lead to disaster should you be succeeded by a man who did not hold so firmly to... shall we say.. morally correct viewpoints. Hudecia has no interest in seeing Russia being ruled by yet another Stalin."

"Our embargoes, although seriously insignificant to the Russian nation, do help bolster our nation's economy, which is highly insular, and I suspect this was one of the ulterior motives of our Parliament."

"In any case, I do not believe that Parliament will be mollified without a significant withdrawal of Russian troops and a return of the Baltic states' independence. The Prime Minister hails from Quebec, the same province as the President of one of the Baltic States, and even under the best of circumstances he is hard to persuade. He is a separatist after all..."

"The embargoes are harming much of our eastern cities, which rely on cross-continental trade with the Hudecians. These embargoes are therefore also a detriment to western Hudecian cities, which I might note, are traditionally conservative strongholds..."

"And yes, it's true that our nation is now seized by a patriotic and militaristic fervor, and they have placed...more trust in me than I would expect. I do however expect to run for, and win, a third five year term, and shall handpick my party's next candidate. Unless I suddenly die in a dramatic swordfight, I should be fine."

He leaned over, whispering.

"As for your Prime Minister...Strictly off the record, we do have means of dealing with him..."

Realizing that Lau's face was a mask of shock, Putin chuckled.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. It's just that we have certain...political assets on the ground. And these political assets can very well devour the base of support for Mr. Bouchard..."

OOC: hmm.. do I sense some foreboding?

IC:

"In this day and age sir, I would not expect you to die in some swordfight, although powerful people do create powerful enemies. And those enemies have ways of 'dealing' with you too. Although, Hudecia is far from your greatest threat."

"The embargoes, coupled with the damage done to our trade relationship with Quinntonia have threatened some of our industries, but with trade to Spyr and the Lyong on the rise I am sure it will recover."

"As for Bouchard, he is simply a result of the fractious environment Hudecia exists in. Devouring the base would require the defeat of the sovereignist movement, which takes time, not assassinations."

"Again, I am afraid I must press our position on the Baltic states and request that you withdraw your claims to the area as soon as possible."

"Lyong is highly insulated economically, as it follows the socialist principle of self reliance. I doubt it can make up for Quinntonian and Russian trade. And I have not called on Bouchard to be assasinated, Madam. I have political assets on the ground that carry much sway with the separatist movement, and could very well destroy him politically."

"No. We will not withdraw; no nation brazenly attacks my people and gets away with it. They are Russian now, and nothing can change that."

He chuckled. "Well yes, I would certainly hope not to die in a swordfight. But with the resurgence of the feudally obsessed Holy League, who knows what can happen? Ha!" he said with mirth.

"If Russia is unwilling to withdraw, then the embargoes will remain in place. There is nothing to be done about that. As for the accusations you have levelled at the Baltic states concerning the attack on your nation, many in my country believe those accusations are nothing more than a repeat of the Mukden Incident."

"Russia has the most to lose in this situation, with the world watching Russian actions in the Baltic and elsewhere, to give your enemies greater reasons or excuses to vilify and hate you and your policies. Since it is obvious that you are unwilling or unable to withdraw, I would suggest that you toss a carrot at the very least to appease your detractors with regards to the Baltic states."

"Hudecia greatly dislikes meddling in the internal affairs of other nations, as in the great majority of times it costs us a great number of our young men and women. Consider my words, although harsh maybe, as the advice of a friend who is willing to tell you to your face what others may say behind your back."

"Well, those citizens are flatly wrong. That is all I can say."

"In the Baltics we are acting with utmost respect for human rights, have de-corrupted their government to a significant degree, and are accelerating their internal development at an incredible rate. We have invested heavily in those nations, and both parties shall prosper. What carrot do you then suggest I toss?"

"I realize that, Ms. Lau. There are, however, times when we cannot simply stand back, and when we must offer our friends aid. However, if you do not wish it then of course I understand."

"It seems we have exhausted the current issues on the table. Is there anything else you might want to discuss?"

OOC: There was something else... but I seem to have forgotton, or it lost importance... oh wait!

IC:

"Actually there is indeed. We would like to know what information you have concerning Drapol and its latest... shall we say.. trick.. involving the carrier?"

He chuckled, his face displaying a humorous honesty.

"Madam, I'm sorry to say but...absolutely nothing more than what you know. Our intelligence assets in Dra-Pol are slim, I'm afraid. There was one disastrous operation...But let's not speak of it. The KGB has been overstretched, with its various anti-corruption and anti-criminal affairs. Our satellites indicated some activity, and then a gigantic explosion. Airborne surveillance indicates there was also some form of flag change, from the Dra-Pol red and blue to the Igovian blood red. I suspect it was just an arms deal gone wrong; however, we have taken precautions by moving our aerial assets closer to the region and by allowing free movement of all NATO forces within our nation that remain from the Lavragerian peace-keeping operation."

"Ah, and in the interest of improving relations between our nations, what say you about a student exchange program? Perhaps joint training exercises between Russian and Hudecian troops?"

"A student exchange program would be welcomed by my nation, although, we trust that students, both ways, would not feel unduly alarmed to have their backgrounds thoroughly checked before arriving."

Lau felt a little uneasy talking about military matters without her key advisors present, but she decided to go it alone.

"As for joint military exercises, as long as such exercises are not held in or near the Baltic states, the political ramifications are... controllable. More details can be confirmed through our respective militaries."

Lau was not one for understanding the intracacies (spelling?) of the military, being from a distinctively civilian background. Typically, one of her key advisors, Eric Howes, being more keen about military affairs would accompany her on most international trips, but officially he was held back by pressing matters.

In reality, Lau was displeased with him and his recent actions during the election. He had, without her knowledge, rigged the election in her favour when it became obvious to him that the separatists were already in the process of buying election officials to 'alter' the results.

So, although Lau had officially won and the election had been declared completely legit, it was cold comfort to her when she realized that the entire election was a fraud.

Putin of course, had little knowledge of any processes of election rigging, besides the regular accusations that plagued all democracies and the occasional over-ambitious KGB agent's plottings. A fiery democrat at heart, he would be disgusted to know of such manipulations of the people's will. They could be swayed and persuaded with any tactics, of course, but once they were in the voting booth...it was blasphemy.

He agreed with Ms. Lau on both proposals, suggested that their respective military and educational agencies handle the details, and then asked if Ms. Lau had exhausted her agenda. If she had, a proper press conference and speech was in order.

Ms. Lau agreed with some reservations concerning the press conference, knowing that the issues of the Baltic states would definately come up. She planned a brief answer that would more or less state that Russia and Hudecia had 'agreed to disagree' on the issue but that they both hoped that they could make progress on other issues.

OOC: I just meant the press conference comment as a wrap up comment. We don't really have anything more to discuss, and I don't think the world community has any more questions, so I think we can just go ahead and "say" there was a press conference.

OOC: Sure thing, just wanted to make sure that Hudecia and Russia 'appear' to be having good relations.