Heading East (SRA-Ahsa)

[Markus Wilding]

The following message was sent to the Confederate foreign ministry:

To Whom it May Concern,

We in the Socialist Republics of America are interested in establishing friendly relations with your government. A meeting can be arranged in either Atlanta or in the Confederation, whichever is more convenient, and we believe there are several topics of mutual interest to discuss.

Signed,
Secretary of State Colin Sharp

[Joe Biden]

President Aisha Zaki leaned back in her chair, staring down at the missive in her hand. Across from her, Secretary of State Iman Jia sat as still and solemn as a stone statue, expression inscrutable.

"Okay," Zaki said slowly, eyebrow arched. "So... let's weigh the pros and cons here. Pros?"

"Establish a cordial relationship in the Americas," Jia began coldly, counting off on her fingers. "Open a dialogue with one of the premier powers in the world. Expand our nascent diplomatic corps. Could prove an economic boon as well, given the SRA's prominence in the global economy. Might open up new markets for our oil industry, too."

"Cons?"

"They've got 'Socialist' in their name," Jia said coldly. Zaki frowned. It was a tough choice.

"Well," she finally sighed. "I mean, at least they didn't address the letter to 'Comrade Zaki' and end it with 'In the name of the glorious revolution' or something. Might as well take it as an opportunity to see what their deal is. Tell them to send somebody over to Riyadh."

[Markus Wilding]

Due to his proximity, Secretary of State Colin Sharp handed off further WHIP proceedings to an American ambassador to head to Riyadh, informing the Confederates of his incoming arrival.

[Joe Biden]

It was your average summer day in Riyadh-- which was to say, it was 110 degrees and everything was dreadful. Still, the city seemed to be bustling in defiance of the heat, and where once there had been a sleepy little town dozing in the summer haze, Riyadh had blossomed into a vibrant metropolis.

At least one person, it appeared, had yet to get used to the heat. The conference room Iman Jia had selected for her summit with her American counterpart was so thoroughly air-conditioned as to be downright freezing by the time Sharp was escorted there, but the inscrutable Ahsaese Secretary of State seemed to feel right at home. "Mr. Secretary," she said coldly in heavily accented English, calling upon her ability as a diplomat character in a nation RP to fluently speak whatever language her counterpart spoke. "The communique from your government was quite unexpected, but not altogether unwelcome. Take a seat, and we can begin."

[Markus Wilding]

"Indeed," Sharp said, nodding as he took a seat. "The American people are interested in establishing friendly trade and formal diplomatic relations with your country. We in Atlanta believe we have much to offer one another - the Socialist Republics have states that are willing to accept Confederate goods and products, and I am already aware of several state enterprises that have expressed interest in expanding their markets to Arabia."

[Joe Biden]

"We're amenable to that," Jia said coldly, adding some other things related to trade that would probably be said in this kind of meeting but wouldn't be very fun or interesting to write.