A Sunny Day in Lima
Midmorning sun filtered through a row of trees as two figures walked through a park in the Peruvian capital. Embassy row lay on one side of the park, while the structures of the Peruvian government lay on the other. In this, a pleasant and neutral meeting ground, two figures strolled through the park. One was Erik Vasiliev, the Vinlandic ambassador. Beside him was none other than the Prime Minister, Eduardo Perez.
A small security detachment of Peruvian soldiers followed inconspicuously behind them, which was of little interest to the two men, who were engaged in a rather animated discussion. The Vinlandic Ambassador was speaking at great lengths of some matter, while the Peruvian Prime Minister listened, in nodding, receptive silence.
"Now if I may adopt a more informal tone, Mister Prime Minister, I'd like to tell you a bit about the history of Vinland.
We were established as a colony of Sweden back in the mid-1600s, and have spent much of that history bordering the much-larger English-dominated neighbour to our south, the land that would ultimately become the United States of America. In the past, we have had good relations with a democratic America, and... poorer relations with an absolutist America. The nadir of our relationship came with the Bodenborg Incident, when American cavalry crossed the border in the Västermark, allied with our erstwhile mutual enemy, the Skraelings, slaughtering the town of Bodenborg.
Thus, you may begin to understand our... complex relationship with the English Americans. As a dictatorship, we have been enemies, though Vinland has worked to ameliorate this relationship in the past. As a democracy, we have been close friends and economic partners.
Upon the collapse of the old American government, we declared that we would not yet recognize a faction as the legitimate government, due to the dangers of angering a force which may ultimately grow to rule the nation that emerged from the turmoil. However, when the United American Republic in Albany, who we supported in spirit but without spoken word or material aid, came to make peace and merge with the remnants of the old Federal Government in Charleston, we realized that a new, legitimate, democratic government had come to fruition. Statsminister Grim Magnusson, ever a man ready to make bold decisions, decided to recognize the Second Union, with the hopes of securing a strong friendly neighbour and securing peace in the continent.
Keep in mind that Vinland has been terribly diplomatically isolated for many years. For the longest time, we had no one but Scandinavia. However, Scandinavia's involvement in imperialist conflicts gradually drove a wedge between us, one that has only widened with the overthrow of Emperor Harald II. Brazil is to combative, America was overtly threatening, and the powers of Europe too distant, or interested in naught but Vinland's ports and resources. Given this, the desire to forge a new friendship has been strong indeed, strong enough perhaps to lead us along the path we have trodden.
Now, let us go back to the matter at hand, that of General Wallace and his Allied Territories. In the beginning, when he united the various military governates of the northwest into a single force, we forged a working relationship with him, establishing trade and welcoming the stability he brought. At that time, he still pledged his loyalty to the Federal Government in Charleston.
However, times have changed, and we fear greatly that the taste of power has overtaken the higher causes for which the General once fought. When Charleston and Albany merged to form a new government in Washington, the Second Union, the direct successor of the government to which he had pledged his loyalty, extended an olive branch to General Wallace, an offer that was most unexpectedly rejected, on claims that foreign support had rendered the Charleston government illegitimate. How he rationalizes the support of the entire Pacific Concord behind his government remains a mystery to me.
Regardless of this, Wallace has now set himself as a major obstacle standing in the way of a lasting peace in North America. Vinland has no problems with the ongoing existence of Jacksonia, and Florida- both of these governments have formed fair and representative structures- indeed, our overseers were present even as these new governments were erected, and can attest to the legitimacy of their democracies. However, the Allied Territories, which you unfortunately recognize as the legitimate government of much of a continent, serve only as a tool for the ambitions of General Wallace, and so long as he stands in opposition, peace will be terribly hard to achieve.
It is our hope that no war will break out, as we hold no ill-will to the various nations of the Pacific Concord, save for the Allied Territories, which again we do not recognize as being anything more than a rogue military governate that has yet to be reigned in by its erstwhile commanders. It is our hope that a workable peace can be resolved wherein the Allied Territories unite with the Federal Government, as they had pledged to do in years past. Our army, we hope, shall stand only as a force of diplomatic pressure, indicating our profound disapproval of Wallace's actions, and our ability to involve ourselves in ending the American conflict should we determine that the need for us to do so is dire.
May this dire day never come, and may peace continue to reign between our nations for many years. Thank you for your attention, Mister Prime Minister, it has been an honour."
