Not-so-strange bedfellows [ATTN: Serbovia]

[Pelasgia]

The last few swallows of autumn flew through they greying skies of Decelea, their dark figures reflecting off the waters of lake Nymphais. Georgios Kalantzis had had a liking for this season in his younger years--though he had lost it in favour of a liking for the summer with time, especially after he had spent so long away from Pelasgia during his studies. Still he could not help but gaze above at the swarms of swallows, arranged in perfect formation in the autumnal sky.​

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Standing inside the neoclassical halls of the Pelasgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was waiting for the passenger of quite a different kind of bird: the metal, man-made kind, flying from Serbovia to the Pelasgian capital at the invitation of the Pelasgian cabinet. This meeting had been in the making for quite a while, but it had crystalized due to Serbovia's crucial assistance with the abolition of the EF Mandates. Following that mutually beneficial development, the Pelasgians had seen fit to cultivate closer ties with their kindred souls across the straits. As the swallows flocked together, so should the "autocratic" countries of the old world, if they were to survive...​

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Kalantzis heard the door behind him opening, and he snapped out of his observations. The delegation from @Serbovia was upon him, and he turned to welcome them with wide arms, as did the rest of his Pelasgian colleagues.​

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"Mr. Milosevic!" he said joyfully. "It is a pleasure and honour to have you here! I hope your flight was comfortable?"​

 

[Serbovia]

Milorad Milosevic had been positively excited over the forthcoming official visit to Pelasgia. After all, it was the first time that Serbovia's newly appointed foreign minister was going abroad in an official capacity. Of course, Milosevic was not a newcomer in international matters. Born in 1963, he had entered the Academy of the Ministry of State Security straight out of the Army, back when Serbovia had been ruled by the Social-Nationalists. He had served in the MDB's Foreign Directorate for fourteen years, up until Serbovia's democratization.

It was there that he had first met Aleksandar Plesic, his predecessor as Serbovia's foreign minister who had recently ascended to presidency. The two men had developed a friendship, which they maintained even if life took them into separate directions. Milosevic had started an import-export business, utilizing the connections and international knowledge that he'd developed as a former officer of the MDB, while Plesic had become a security consultant for some of Serbovia's richest oligarchs. It had been Plesic who had lured Milosevic into politics in 2016, when he won his first seat in the Federal Congress. The two men shared a bond of unquestionable loyalty to each other. It was probably why Plesic had asked Milosevic as his successor for his old position.

"Mr. Kalantzis!", Plesic returned his Pelasgian counterpart's greeting and extended his hand for a handshake, "The flight couldn't have been better. It's a pleasure to visit your beautiful country."

A polite lie so as to avoid spoiling the mood. In truth, there had been serious turbulence. Still, the weather had not dulled the enthusiasm that the new Serbovian foreign minister felt for his new role.