Midweis Conference, A Second Chance at Peace [Attn: CoN, Trier Accord]

[Gunnland]

Foreign Secretary Larkin stood up and loudly applauded the Elbener count.

"Count von Schlabrendorff and Mrs. Christmann are correct: Point Four is the most serious matter, and the odd-numbered points are, well, surpassingly odd. Gunnland would certainly join an international organization dedicated to studying and preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction. But that seems like thinking about the future. Like Mrs. Christmann, I too would sign Point Two of the Vogt Plan, albeit with the reservations of my allies. As for Point Four, I hope with the peace in Trivodnia, this war is coming to an end. But we know the effects of a refugee crisis can last a very long time. The Council of the North is in the process of building a network of four temporary settlements for internally displaced persons in western Crotobaltislavonia, for a maximum of 500,000 IDPs initially. Later we hope to repatriate Crotobaltislavonian refugees in Gunnland and Elben into these facilities. In the case of my own Kingdom, they shall be able to apply for asylum at the IDP camp as well as the refugee camp."

He sat down, noting with surprise that the slick-haired Ambassador Pelagio seemed to rise to stand as he sat, like a well-oiled hydraulic device.

"Only the North has sent military forces to guarantee the future of a free and prosperous Crotobaltislavonia from the aggressors, aggressors who do owe reparations to the people of that country. Why do the politicians of Bergenheim waste their breath, as if they... or the Eiffellandians... have any right to join Kadikistan and the North in influencing... positively influencing I mean... the future of a free Crotobaltislavonia. One wonders. Is there enough political will in Bergenheim and enough tanks in Eiffelland to shape the future of Crotobaltislavonia?"

Pelagio sat with an odd look, and then with the suave bravado sometimes noticed in men of Borovangen extraction, winked at Zimmermann.

 

[Rheinbund]

Zimmermann decided to ignore Pelagio's wink. Heilige Mutter Gottes, wie tollpatschig und frech kann man sein, he thought [1]. That was a diplomat? In any case, it seemed like the Council of the North was divided. The Gunnish seemed to have other plans than the Elbeners. Zimmermann had to move carefully.

For paying reparations to CBS, well, Eiffelland was not involved in hostilities against CBS. At least not officially. Furthermore, the Kadikistani had enough to rob from Trivodnia, among others factories from Darner, Rathenau and Raimer. And finally, who fired the first shot? Not Trivodnia. Not Bourgogne. Not the Trier Concord. Not a single Pfennig or Centime would go to CBS as a reparation.

"Well, everybody caresses the dream of a free and prosperous Crotobaltislavonia, independent from your ideas about freedom and prosperity. Furthermore, discussing about reparations automatically means discussing about the question of guilt. I think that such a discussion will be counterproductive. And finally, in an ideal situation, all the Crotobaltislavonian refugees should return home on the long run. The future development of CBS will determine if we can ask from the Crotobaltislavonian refugees to return home," Zimmermann said.

OOC: Translation: [1] Holy Mother of God, how clumsy and impudent can you be?

 

[Crotobaltislavonia]

Jedreck consulted his "colleagues" from back. Both the Durata woman and Gavrilovic were amenable to Jedreck's suggested words. The Foreign Minister again addressed the gathering.

"Crotobaltislavonia is willing to set aside talk of reparations ... for now. The refugee matter is paramount at this point. An agreement with a timetable pledges of assistance much be reached. Our people must come home soon. The Motherland's future is dependent on their labors. There seems to be some resistance to this?"

 

[Bergenheim]

The grey fox Kessler listened carefully, his flinty eyes narrowing only as he spied Angela's shameless antics, hanging on to Count Schlabendorff.

"Gentlemen, please. These proposals are only that- proposals. A beginning point before reaching a final agreement. I will respond to your concerns in turn."

"I am pleased to see general agreement with point one. Truly it is vital that we act together, in unity, whatever else is agreed here, we must agree to stand together as one against the Rurikgrad menace."

He began to walk up and down the table, refusing to sit, presenting himself as accessible to all, talking to each in turn, but also clearly assuming a subtle mantle of leadership.

"I am surprised that there is some contention over point two. But, if it reassures the more cautious amongst us, I am happy to see an impartial third-party act as investigator into the matter, and confirm beyond shadow of a doubt the guilt of the Serenien aggressors."
He paused, waiting to see if he had drawn them in with his measured words.

"But, the essence of this point is an agreement on mutual retaliation. Wether or not Serenierre is presently guilty, I think it is vital to our common interest that we agree that, in a situation such as this, we provide a guarantee of mutually assured destruction, should the communists feel arrogant or emboldened enough by these events to use such weapons in the future."

He then moved on, before stopping behind Angela and Elben, his presence a subtle reminder and warning to the First Hand about her behaviour.

"Point Three is vague, and I concede that it can be interpreted a number of ways. Determining who the legitimate government of Crotobaltislavonia is, unfortunately, beyond the remit of this conference, and I will ask that we focus on the other three points for the time being. We have invited all significant voices of Crotobaltislavonia here for a reason, after all. Whatever our esteemed colleagues may wish or desire concerning the leadership and ideology of their future country, they surely must see that by being here they have tacitly agreed to our aid in stabilising their situation."

"Point Four was a proposal. We understand that some nations have done much to aid refugees, and we do not ask they take on anymore than their fair share. There is also only a finite number of refugees coming from Crotobaltislavonia. I doubt Eiffelland, with its much greater population, will need to take on the full burden implied by our proposed mathematical formula."

He turned lastly to the CBS delegates once again.

"We understand your desire to have your citizenry returned, and believe me I would be among the first to gladly aid those seeking asylum to be able to return to their natural homes and families. But war still rages, and the women and children are unsafe. We can agree, perhaps, to some limited repatriations of healthy adult men to your direct control, as labour or military assets. But the families must, for their own protection, remain in our camps for the time being."

"As to all other matters...it is best we keep our attention firmly focused on resolving these points, before anything else."

 

[Rheinbund]

"So the key to the refugees returning home is achieving a cessation of hostilities in Crotobaltislavonia," Zimmermann said. "What is needed to achieve that?"

 

[Crotobaltislavonia]

After a pause in the conference, Jedreck returned to the grand ball room they were meeting in. Striding the podium, he looked at the other delegates with a stern expression.

"Comrades, let us face facts. And those are the facts on the ground at present. I have just recieved a bulletin from Banja Luka. It would appear that despite our efforts, the war is finding its own way to an end. I suggest we must put the war behind us and focus on the future. Let us decide the final disposition of the refugees. Let us discuss measures for the economic revitalization of Crotobaltislavonia. Who here will pledge to assist the Motherland in the difficult times to come?"

 

[Bergenheim]

The collapse of Trivodnia, the withdrawal of the Bourgogne army...the Second Midweis Conference had once again been outpaced by events, and let down by those who were supposed to be the stronger nations within Gallo-Germania.

Now, Angela's courtship of the Count seemed foolish in retrospect. Crotobaltislavonia was once again in a position of relevance, specifically the legitimate, Kadikistan-backed government. It seemed there was nothing and noone who would stand against the Rurikgard juggernaut.

Angela had new, strict orders. She approached Jedreck, a look of consternation and regret on her face. This would be the hardest thing she would ever have to do.

"My government." She began. "Would like to discuss a way of repatriating the refugees you require, and also the payment of...aid to your government to assist in rehousing the refugees. All other points of the Vogt Plan are now considered null and void."

Vice-Chancellor Kessler was given the gristly task of breaking up the conference. He suppressed his anger. He had been so close to achieving diplomatic breakthroughs on key issues, on establishing unprecedented Germanic unity, or so he felt.

Now it was all to be swept away, like so much dust and smoke.

"In order to end this Conference on some note of dignity, we humbly request all dignitaries agree to a staged repatriation of refugees to Crotobaltislavonia. I would personally also consider it a favour if your governments could issue a statement of condemnation of Serenierre for its WMD use, but this is not something our government is officially pushing for anymore."

 

[Elben]

The conference had gone about the way he had expected it to, except for the approaches made by Angela. Then she abandoned him and went off to work on Jedreck. A small flicker of regret passed through him, but Schlabrendorff damped it down, telling himself to remember to mention it to his confessor. Time to throw a preserver to Kessler.

"Herr Kessler, while Elben deplores the use of force against innocents, there is not much precedent on which to base wide condemnation of such weapons during wartime. Elben would be pleased to attend a conference with its specific goal being the definition of such weapons and their use and misuse. Midweis would be an ideal location for such a conference due to its place in the heart of our region and its facilities for hosting such a gathering. I pledge on behalf of my king Elben's full support for such a conference and its recommendations."

 

[Rheinbund]

Zimmermann looked at Kessler with pity. On the one hand, it was indeed a lost chance in uniting Gallo-Germania against the Rurikgrad Pact. Apparently the Elbeners had made the same calculation as the Eiffellanders had made: Gallo-Germania did not have an adequate answer against six million soldiers. Within the Trier Concord, Eiffelland was very hesitant about Operation Götterdämmerung (Blacktorn's plan to sweep Kadikistan out of CBS), because it realised that the Trier Concord could not field enough soldiers to let the operation succeed. In any case, Zimmermann wanted to assist Kessler in achieving a positive outcome of the conference.

"We still think that a united condemnation of Serenierre's use of WMDs is justified. Please note that the Serenien armed forces used napalm on civilian targets. I do agree with His Highness the Count of Schlabrendorff that a conference on the use of WMDs is necessary. I agree with Bergenheim as location for this conference," he said.

THe Foreign Minister of Retalia indicated that he agreed with Zimmermann's words. He added to it: "Let it also be known that the Trier Concord will remain open for cooperation with the Council of the North, as well as Crotobaltislavonia, Bergenheim and Ruthenia-Galicia. With emphasis on 'cooperation'."

 

[Crotobaltislavonia]

As a career diplomat, Jedreck was a bit disappointed that diplomacy had failed. But Angela was looking at him and offering up refugees and money.

"Crotobaltislavonia is preparing to receive our refugees. A staged return is definitely necessary so that they do not overwhelm our combined resources. Once they are safe and sound on Crotobaltislavonian soil, they will be allowed to return to their homes or to homestead in the east. I recommend starting small and then letting the flow set its own pace. Just keep them coming steadily. As for, let's call it support, I trust you to donate what your nation can manage and nothing more. I hope the others," Jedreck glanced around at their colleagues, "will follow noble Bergenheim's example."

The Foreign Minister smiled and moved closer to Angela, putting his lips next to her ear so that only she could hear his next words.

"Do not despair, Dear. Your actions today will pay dividends tomorrow. A strong and prosperous Crotobaltislavonia will not be a threat to anyone on the Continent and we will be grateful to those who displayed true friendship. This comes directly from Banja Luka. My people are tired of war. We need peace."

 

[Rheinbund]

"The 7th regiment of the Eiffellandian army is a 100% medical regiment, specialised in setting up field hospitals in a.o. refugee camps. It consists of 1650 people, mainly nurses and doctors. Its purpose is to carry out humanitary missions. We are willing to let that regiment assist in the refugee camps in Bergenheim. There is a legal issue, however: They are part of the Eiffellandian armed forces. Is it possible from a legal perspective to let the 7th regiment carry out a humanitary mission in Bergenheim?" Minister Zimmermann asked.