Suez Canal Crisis

Taking act of the closing of the Suez Canal by L'iao Biella, the Grand Duke Nicholas III calls for a conference between the interested nations, to solve the question .
The Suez Canal is of a huge importance for the international trade of every country and for this shall remain open unless a provocation is made by any power .
We feel that the anti-piracy action undertaken by the Hanseatic league is not a provoaction against L'iao Biella and that the Canal could be opened by the Emperor of such a revered country.
Having stated this we suggest that both the sides renonciate to continue their actions : destroyng the piracy in the Red Sea is duty of the L'iao Biellan navy and not of the Hanseatic League .
May the canal be reopened and the respective navies be withdrawed .

The Seljuk Empire would be most interested in attending a conference dealing with the Suez Canal.

The Kingdom of L'iao Biella shall dispatch Prince Ahmed Fakhouri. We feel that the 'anti-piracy' action that was undertaken by Haneseatic was uncalled for, and civilian ships could have easily of taken the course towards the Seljuk Empire. Instead, their nation chose to employ naval battalions to inhabit the waters of the Mediterranean, and while doing so claim to have sent the Admiral Graf Spee towards the Suez Canal, which is under the strict control of our Kingdom.

While we understand the need for use of the Suez Canal, we also find that that international use should remain under the control of the nation who's land it is in. For the time being we have locked down the canal for international use until further notice, for we believe that until these battle cruisers leave the Mediterranean we see no justification to open them. These unwarranted acts of aggression are nonsensical, and if dangers were posed to shipping carriers of the Heneseatic they should have used diplomatic methods with our nation to resolve them, for we would have gladly patrolled the sea to ensure that piracy was not to occur.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Texan Federation would attend such a conference. We believe no international trading route should be blocked off.

The Confederate States of America have no personal concern for the Suez Canal, only economic. It is beneficial to our servant shipments, many of whom come from the African continent, and naturally would need to sail through the Suez Canal to embark in southern Europe and northern Africa on their way from Central Asia or East Africa.

So, if possible, the Confederacy would like to attend a conference on the matter.

The Hanse Reich will of course be in attendance, although we are deeply annoyed by the overkill of the leaders in L'iao Biella. If they see a three cruiser, plus auxiliaries, as a threat to their security, they have to be just the most insecure people in the world. The Kingdom of L'iao Biella will open the Suez Canal, or it will lose control of it.

We have already dispatched not only the Admiral Graf Spee to observe the Suez Canal, but also the Bismarck and several other vessels that are fully capable of wiping out the pathetic L'iao Biellan threat to the international trade routes. Their navy or their ground forces will not stop our valuable cargo from reaching their destinations as planned.

The Hanseatic Empire is shouting without reasons : we are sure that an agreement can be reached .
If the Hanseatic Empire accepts to withdraw its fleet, we are sure the L'iao Bella Empire will accept to reopen the canal, while the German Fleet will take another route to arrive in the Red Sea .
Any refusal of this compromise would surely show the bad faith of one of the two sides .

OOC: Shall we make a separate thread for this event?

The Papal States will attend as a nation with significant interests in the area. We warn the 'Hanse Reich' that any aggressive action against L'iao Biella will result in significant retribution from His Holiness, both economic, military and spiritual.

As a nation with no interest in the area and a neutral stance on the conflict at hand, the Empire of Greater Japan offers to host a conference on the issue in the capital city of Edo.

We agree that the capital of Edo is a fine place to hold an impartial meeting. The neutrality of this location shall offer the given parties a chance to examine the issues at hand in a worry-free environment. It has been stated by us, and other nations that an agreement can be reached between our two nations, but it appears as if, the Hanseatic Empire has chosen to lay waste to diplomacy so that it may flex its muscles with their gunships. Their military might is laughable, and their failed attempts at real diplomacy only show the real charade of a government that dwells so far north.

Withdrawing of the fleet from the Mediterranean Sea, and replacing them with civilian vessels is all that we ask. For, it is not a matter of insecurity, as it is an issue of security. We do not know the intentions of a nation who foolishly enters free waters with naval cruisers, even though their homeland claims it is for diplomatic means. We shall reopen the canal to international use once these ships have left the Sea and returned from where they have come. We will not object to civilian ships entering either through the Strait of Gibraltar or that of the Suez Canal. Our nation will compromise to continue peace between the many nations of the world, but shall keep a wide eye towards the north.

Our Kingdom has controlled the Canal since its creation, and even before its formal inception by our government in the late 1800's. The Empire's foolishness, brashness and misuse of military might shall be their downturn in the world, and it is our hope that the international community shall see what is hidden behind their harsh phrases. No nation shall threaten our homeland.

We shall warn the Hanseatic Empire that, despite our friendship treaty, the L'iao Bellan Empire is right and is suggesting the best possible option to avoy any European-scale armed conflict .

The Hanseatic cruisers were at no point on a diplomatic mission. They were there from the beginning as a safety precaution for Hanseatic vessels that have in the past few months become under several attacks by pirates and/or privateers in the so called "free" waters of the Mediterranean. The cruisers did not at any point violate L'iao Biellan waters before King Sulaiman IV "closed the port city of Bur Sa'id and the adjoined Suez Canal to international shipping and tourism", in which case a lone cruiser with an auxiliary ship were sent to ensure Hanseatic traders' rights were not violated.

Frankly put, the Hanseatic Empire cannot survive without it's trade routes intact and secure. Any threat to it's commercial interests will be taken seriously and no negotiations will be possible if any nation intentionally wishes to cripple or hinder the flow of trade to and fro the Hanseatic Empire. As so the ball will be passed back to the King of L'iao Biella, as the naval presence on the Mediterranean will not leave until we have assurances that the pirate activity on the Mediterranean will be handled properly by those nations that are located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and that the Suez Canal will be always open to Hanseatic shipments, despite diplomatic or political situations in and around the Kingdom of L'iao Biella.

If the Kingdom of L'iao Biella will not meet our requests, then we will be forced into securing our trade route ourselves.

The Hanseatic cruisers violated the peaceful tranquility of the Mediterranean when they decided to enter the waters. It is appalling for a nation of such standing to play a pity card, when it is they who have decided to create tension in peaceful waters. For yes, it is true that our nation has known of the pirates who are menaces within the sea, but we have done all that we can to secure our regional sea boundaries and that of the Suez Canal. There remains no attack on international or domestic ships through the Canal in more than twenty years, and the belief that our government and glorious King would only sit idly by while nations are ravaged of their goods is preposterous and without merit. Our nation, along with those who inhabit around the Sea shall do what is necessary to counteract these thieves and ensure peaceful travel once again returns.

We, the people of L'iao Biella understand the need for partnerships and trade so that one may have a long lasting and stable economic future. While yes, we realize this to be a necessity, we do not find it to be a right of any one nation to bully another into what they can or cannot do with territory within their borders. So think not you heathens of the North that we shall bow down to your demands, for it is your brashness that brought upon our heated response and it is this same brashness that may soon be your downfall.

We shall open the Suez Canal to all travel, once your pitiful fleet leaves the sea. So until that moment your travel will be restricted as it has been for many weeks, and believe us that your presence shall be seen as casus belli. Our citizens, government and King hold out hope that the bravado you carry shall soon fall and we may create diplomacy once again, but as the sands in the hourglass trickle down, this hope has become fleeting.

Fear tactics shall not work on us, for we do not fear your land nor any. We have stood for centuries, and shall still stand for many more.