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Regnum Scatinavium
Topic Started: Feb 11 2017, 11:38 PM (444 Views)
NRE
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Map Tsar and Southern Gentleman

Helsinki, Finland...

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In the days that followed her invitation to all parties involved, Governor-General Marta von Platen had been busy making all the preparations. She'd barely been able to put together her own government while also having to put together such an important submit but she'd managed with the grace and tenacity Russia had expected for their pick as Finland's new leader. She'd chosen the former Government Palace as the location of the meeting, hiring an army of aides and housekeeping staff to prepare the building for the meeting. During the time of Communist rule the building had been mostly neglected. A sign of Bourgeoisie decadence, the building had come up for demolition several times but the measure was always defeated, if only by the narrowest of margins. Though they'd never had admitted it, Communist leaders always understood how connect the people felt to such historical building such as the Government Palace and so they were left, if only to rot away of their own accord from neglect. Luckily for von Platen the building was in relatively good shape, enough at least that a few days of vigorous cleaning could make it ready for the meeting.

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With the room all set and all the preparations made she was ready when the hour came for her guests to arrive. The first to do so was the Russian delegation which, aside from a small army of aides and assistants, meant the Minister of Internal Affairs Helen Orlova and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Viktor Larionov. Both great the Governor-General with smiles as they entered the room. "May I say that Saint Petersburg is very eager to begin working with our counterparts here in Finland" Orlova stated. "We want to see the Finish people uplifted as soon as humanly possible to ensure your prosperity." "Indeed" Larionov added, "we seek for Finland to become the envy of Europe, a showcase of our prosperous Russia is and how stabilizing the Saint Petersburg parliamentarian system can be!" Shortly after the Russians arrived a few members of the Diet also arrived, making small talk with the Russians no doubt as a means of laying the ground work for future connections. It wasn't long before an aide entered the room, informing von Platen that guests from Western Finland and the Porcuian Republic arrived and were being shown the room.
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Porcu
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"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."

The first to enter was Tarja Kiviniemi, Chairwoman of the Governing Council of Western Finland, and was immediately followed by several adjuncts. Mrs. Kiviniemi struck her Russian and Finnish counterparts as nervous but the Governor-General Marta von Platen knew better than to assume any nervousness on the part of Kiviniemi reflected on her intelligence or ability. The Chairwoman had been essentially thrust into politics initially and she had made a name for herself through her steady and cool presence in the Finnish Diet.

Next to follow was the Porcuian delegation, lead by the Praetor Publius Vibius Pansa. In contrast to the nervousness displayed by Kiviniemi, Vibius Pansa moved about with complete confidence. Both the Russians and the Finnish leadership instinctively took this to mean that Ariminae had settled on a more definitive and supportive position with regard to Western Finland. If that were the case it would be necessary to tread carefully.

General introductions and pleasantries were quickly dispensed with and it was not long before Marta von Platen caught everyone's attention so that she could begin the business end of the meeting.
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Map Tsar and Southern Gentleman

"Chairwoman Kiviniemi, distiguished guest of the Porcuian Republic, and Russian Empire; allow me first to say welcome." Governor-General Marta von Platen started, her voice solid and soft. Carrying herself with grace befitting a woman of her age, she cautioned herself as she continued. "I believe I speak for all the Finish people when I say that the end of Communist oppression here is someone welcome by all. That we have the freedom of choice is paramount for the survival of our people and is a natural treasure we are prepared to defend to the last man, woman, and child. It is choice that has brought us to this meeting and it is the choices that are made here today which will define the finish people, all Finish people, for several generations."

"Legally, my government is the successor state to the Communist government of Yshurak. All territories of Finland are the oversight of my government and the Diet of Finland. However, we respect the legitimacy of the national referendum and the legal status of separation the Western Finish people have sought. I and my government have no issue with this and are more than willing to recognize the legitimacy of Western Finland. However, as I am sure that my counterpart in Western Finland can attest, we Fins face an immediate future of great economic hardship. Collectivization has destroyed progress in our country and it will take time to decentralize the economy and institute the type of free-market policies which can make out economy success. These policy can only work when we break up the great state-own conglomerates which provided all the basic necessities of life include power, water, waste disposal, transportation, and so on."

"With Finland the natural successor of Yshurak, these state-owned businesses are legally ours and we have every right to demand these properties. However, upon discussion with my Russian counter-parts, I believe that there is another course of action which we could take which would be beneficial to all involved. Western Finland feels it cannot survive without this infrastructure then fine, we will allow the Western Fins to keep the infrastructure if they agree to a lease agreement. Your government would pays ours for the use of the facilities and equipment you'd keep in your territories for a determined time period. At the conclusion of that period we can either renegotiate a lease agreement or sale the equipment to your government. I believe this is the best solution we can afford the people of Western Finland for as much as they might be suffering, the rest of Finland is as well."
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"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."

Chairwoman Kiviniemi spoke first and struck a conciliatory tone. "I want to thank you, Governor-General, for organizing and hosting this event. Despite our current differences we are still Finns and your words seem reasonable. I am interested in hearing further the details regarding your lease proposal, but I want to settle a key priority.

"Does the newly declared Grand Duchy of Finland, along with the Russian Empire, fully recognize the votes cast by a vast majority of Finns within the regions of Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia, Satakunta, and Southwest Finland? I want the premise of our discussion here today to be fully understood by all: are we negotiating amongst equals or between an extension of the Russian Empire and a breakaway territory?

"You must understand that we hold no ill will against Helsinki except for the Diet's refusal to consider the wishes of Western Finland. We hope that may change, starting today."
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Map Tsar and Southern Gentleman

"To speak on behalf of the Russian Empire" Helen Orlova, the Internal Minister stated as she spoke up among the others, "We have already made our stance on the question of independence quite clear. Our government is fully prepared to recognize Western Finish independence once the question of state property has been resolved. If it pleases Western Finland, Russia has no immediate problem with treating you as an independent state and an equal partner in these negotiations. Naturally, this is in understanding that these negotiates are fruitful and resolve with a formal agreement which definitively answer all questions to which we've already asked. Namely, what is to be done with the state owned property currently in your borders which is, by legal right, the property of the Grand Duchy of Finland."

Governor-General von Platen nodded in agreement, "The Grand Duchy concurs that we see no problems with, for the sake of negotiations, forgo any formalities and simply recognize Western Finland as an equal. Please, our dearest hope here is that we can resolve this quite peacefully so that all Fins can work forward and begin building a better life for ourselves."
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"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."

Chairwoman Kiviniemi nodded in approval at the words of both the Russian Internal Minister and the Finnish Governor-General. "I am pleased to hear that and have a counter proposal for your lease agreement.

"Specifically, we would be willing to sell a number of facilities, power plants, and conglomerate equipment directly to the Grand Duchy in the form of raw material. The Republic of Porcu has agreed to provide funding and equipment in order to facilitate this conversion, which will liberate space and materials and provide money directly to the Western Finnish people so that we can begin to invest and develop our own infrastructure. Our own estimations approximate 20-30% of former Yshurakan property can be liberated in this manner. As for the rest, the Western Finnish government is open to leasing-to-own agreements, pending details on rates."

The Russians and Finns frowned. "That property which you would sell to us as component materials is legally the Grand Duchy's and as such is not yours to do with as you please."

"That is where you are wrong." Publius Vibius Pansa interjected. "As far as the Republic is concerned, those properties and equipment are legally owned by the Western Finns per their now recognized independence. I believe the Chairwoman's offer is very kind: accept lease agreements for 70-80% of the properties and equipment under dispute and pay a negotiated price for the return of some raw materials or see the latter sold to another nation or foreign investor."
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Map Tsar and Southern Gentleman

"I'm afraid there has been a misinterpretation of my statement" the Internal Minister replied. "the full recognition of Western Finish Independence remains solely tied to the very property to which you claim is already their own. Our willingness to negotiate on equally footing with Western Finland is equally tied to this property and if we cannot agree on who owns the property then I am afraid we've come to an unfortunate impasse which may hinder further nego..."

While the Internal Minister we talking the Foreign Minister, Viktor Larionov, who'd remained silent thus far scribbled something down on a loose piece of paper and then passed it to the Internal Minister. The note stopped her before she could finish her sentence and after looking over at the Foreign Minister, who gave only a nod, she returned to the Western Fins and Porcu.

"I retract my previous statement, it seems I was premature in my actions. In a show of good faith the Russian Empire will accept this and will agree to buy 25% of the property in question in the form of raw materials. We will do so only so long as the materials sold to use are priced not to exceed 5% more than their market value." the Internal Minister was resolute in her tone of voice, trumping at this point the Governor-General in the negotiations. "Finally, in terms of a leasing agreement, of the 75% which remains of Finnish infrastructure the Russian government proposes a combine lease 450,000 a year for 100 years. This would amount to roughly 45 million over the course of that time at which point the property will come under sole ownership of your government and people."
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"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."

Vibius Pansa leaned over to Chairwoman Kiviniemi and whispered that the counter-proposal was agreeable to Ariminae. The Porcuian government would work to cover the initial installments until such a time that Western Finland could cover an increasingly larger percentage of the lease payments. Kiviniemi was thrilled.

"Yes." she replied forcefully. "We accept."
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Map Tsar and Southern Gentleman

"excellent" Foreign Minister Larionov stated, breaking his silence. "Congratulations on Western Finland's independence Madame Chairwoman. The Russian Empire looks forward to what we undoubtedly hope will be cordial future relations between our two people."

With that the agreement was informally agreed upon. Within the next few weeks following the talks an official agreement was written, the signing of which occur between the Chiarwoman of Western Finland and the Governor-General, with the Grand Duchy officially recognizing Western Finland's independence. It was a bitter sweet occasion for the more traditionalists in the Grand Duchy. They were displeased that Russia had allow Western Finland to gain its independence as a division in the traditional Finnish state was blasphemous to them. However, any resentment or dissension in the ranks was silences very quickly. Irregardless of their feelings the red menace was dead and they were free, that alone was cause for celebration. Besides this thought, some believed Western Finland was a temporary agreement as such a small cut of their homeland couldn't possible think it could make it without the rest. For them, they were resigned to content by the notion that Western Finland existed solely on borrowed time.
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