[Norway]: Message for Republic of Ukraine

[Zak]

​

KINGDOM OF NORWAY​

PRIVATE AND CLASSIFIED​

Recipient: Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister, Republic of Ukraine My name is Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide and I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Norway. Therefore, I am the one that is given the honour to contact you and open diplomatic ties with the between the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Ukraine. I hope it is possible to arrange a meeting between ourselves so that we can discuss a wide range of topics such as political affairs, military affairs and economic affairs. I would like to invite you to the Norwegian capital city of Oslo to meet with myself in order for our two nations to open relations. ____________________________________ Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide Minister of Foreign Affairs​

GingeOrCringe

 

[GingeOrCringe]

To: Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide Zak

From: Viktor Yanukovich

Subject: Establishing diplomatic relations

Cc: Oleksander Chalyim, Henadij Zayets

Security: private and encrypted

To Our Great and Good Friend Ms. Eriksen Søreide,

I hope this correspondence finds you well. Unfortunately, I've been banished to the Far East for the foreseeable future (attending the funeral of the Crown Prince of Thailand, then the coronation of their new Queen). However, Ambassador Henadij Zayets is always at your disposal and Deputy Secretary Oleksander Chalyim is available by phone or email--you would, of course, have to contact him if you are seeking an in person meeting as I have no idea what his current schedule looks like. I've Cc'd them both in this email.

The Republic of Ukraine looks forward to strengthening its ties with western countries . We hope a shared pursuit of friendship with Norway will prove auspicious.


I avail myself of this opportunity of assuring the Norwegian government of our highest consideration,

Viktor Fedorovich Yanukovich
Виктор Федорович Янукович
Prime Minister of Ukraine

 

[Zak]

​

It was early morning in Oslo, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs had already been in the office since before 7am and she had undertaken many tasks which had been delegated to her such as replying to emails, undertaking briefings by her advisers and dealing with local constituency issues as she represented Oslo in the Norwegian Parliament so lots had been done in the office before 9am where the Minister of Foreign Affairs had finally opened the reply given by the Ukrainian Prime Minister which she scanned over.

She looked at the clock which rested on the wall next to the Norwegian coat of arms on her wall, and took the opportunity to meet the Ukrainian Ambassador so grabbed her briefcase and coat and made her way to the exit of the Victoria Terrasse which was home to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which happened to be a three minute walk and took the opportunity to grab two coffees and a selection of pastries and made her way to the Ukrainian Embassy just after 9:20 in the morning.

Minister Søreide made her way into the embassy and proceeded to the reception area, she took in her surroundings and smiled at what was surrounding her and looked towards the receptionist as she was flanked by two officers from the Norwegian Police Security Service as she held onto the coffee cup holder and a bag of pastries.

"Uh, hello. I would like to speak to the Ambassador please? Could you tell him it is the Norwegian Foreign Minister who would like to speak to him please?" She smiled towards the receptionist.

GingeOrCringe

 

[GingeOrCringe]

Vann tapped his pencil against his desk, a newspaper spread out in front of him. He ignored the recent headlines regarding Romania and US Supreme Court justices in favor of the weekly crossword puzzle. Five letter Norwegian word for cozy...

"Huh?" He blinked, looking up as a woman entered through the main doorway. The embassy had been an absolute graveyard for the past few weeks, only a handful of lost tourists drifting in and out every other day.

"Oh, Minister Søreide! Of course, of course," he leapt up from his chair and nodded as though he'd recognized her face instantaneously. His words were nervously cheerful and overly emphasized as if he were talking to an alien. "We are so happy to have you, I hope you are doing well. Your arms look rather full there--may I help you carry that?" He didn't listen for confirmation, simply took the breakfast items out of her hands, attempting to unburden her.

"Um..." Vann paused. How to tell her? "The Russian embassy is just a Kilometer down the road. I can walk you right there. I've learned the way now so it's really no trouble at all. This one is just for Ukraine, but it's ok, happens all the time. Nothing to be embarrassed about."

Zak

 

[Zak]

The Minister had a confused look as she had the breakfast items removed from her arms but ushered a fake smile shortly after the receptionist had stepped back from taking the items from her, she rested her handbag down on the desk infront of her as the security personnel stood behind her watched on and took in their surroundings if the worst case scenario happened.

"No, no. I don't need the Russian Embassy. I need the Ukrainian Embassy as I'd been speaking to Prime Minister Yanukovich over the phone so is your Ambassador arrived for work yet, or no?"

She asked, lifting her arm up to look at her watch knowing that she had other tasks to complete throughout the day but was currently being held up by some low level Ukrainian staffer but she remained calm and composed.

GingeOrCringe

 

[GingeOrCringe]

- private -

Vann cocked his head to the side, taking a second to process what Minister Søreide had said.

“My apologizes, Madam Minister. Usually people aren’t looking for us. I’m sure you’re scheduled for a meeting, I should have been more prepared. I’ve just been so…” he glanced back at his desk, “absorbed in current events. That whole Romania situation is very interesting.” He motioned with the coffee towards a hallway. “I’ll lead you to the reception room and you can sit down. Ambassador Zayets is in, he’ll be just a few minutes.”

Vann would lead her down the passage to an elevator and up to the second floor, all the while chattering about how beautiful Norway was, how many moose he’d seen on his weekend back packing adventures (three), and all the wonderful food.

The reception room was small, with slightly out-dated furniture and decor. A glass-topped table with four blue-upholstered chairs sat right in the middle. Vann would place the coffee and pastries there before excusing himself. “He’ll be right with you. If there’s anything else you need in the mean time, let me know! Oh—sorry,” he offered on of the security personnel an apologetic smile, having bumped shoulders upon his exit.

---

Ambassador Henadij Zayets rubbed his eyes as he held the coffee pot over his favorite mug and attempted to pour himself some liquid energy. Nothing. Forgetting to refill the water was a chronic issue at the embassy--a crime more common than lunch theft or failing to replace the toilet paper roll. Maybe Sweden has the right idea reinstating their death penalty... He thought for a brief moment.

"Ambassador," Oleksandra popped her head into the communal kitchen, her arms were full of paper. "The Minister of Foreign Affairs would like a word with you."

"Keep him on hold--I need a few minutes," he grumbled, loosening his tie with one hand as he leaned against the counter.

"Oh, no, not our's sir."

Henadij sighed. “Søreide then? I’ll be right there…”

"You better hurry," she called as she left the doorway. "Vann is the one who greeted her—not our best first impression!"

He would speed-walk down the hall, licking his hand and trying to smooth down his blonde hair when he caught his reflection in one of the windows. Nothing to be done about the five o’clock shadow, unfortunately.

“Minester Søreide,” he said, buttoning his jacket as he entered the room. “I apologize for the wait. I wasn’t aware you’d be coming. Must have been some miscommunication on our end. How can I help you today?” He surveyed the table as he spoke, hoping one of those to-go cups was for him.

Zak

 

[Zak]

​

Minister Søreide raised an eyebrow at the Ukrainian receptionist as she followed him to the elevator and then through the corridors before arriving at the office where she clutched back the items took from him before making her way into the office where she took a seat at the Ambassadors desk.

"Jesus christ, are the budget cuts this bad in Rus-.. Ukraine." She mumbled to herself in Norwegian, before hearing the Ambassador enter the office.

"Sorry to catch you off guard Ambassador, I can come back another time if you were busy? I had been speaking to Prime Minister Yanukovich who told me you would be free? Maybe you would like a coffee?"

She slid a bag of pastries to the Ambassador before sliding a to-go cup towards him also, and by the look of the Ambassador, the pastries would be demolished in seconds. She leaned back into the seat as she awaited a response from the Ukrainian diplomat.

GingeOrCringe

 

[GingeOrCringe]

Ambassador Zayets returned her smile, "yes, thank you, coffee would be lovely." God bless Norwegian hospitality, he thought. He restrained himself from chugging down the entire cup and took a seat opposite her. "I apologize for my lack of punctuality. My daughter is sick--nothing serious--but as a result I've been getting a little less sleep than I would like." He would spare her the details of cleaning up vomit at 3am and instead held up his coffee. "With a little caffeine we'll have no trouble. Now, where shall we start?"

Zak

 

[GingeOrCringe]

Zak

 

[Zak]

Minister Søreide respawns into the Ambassadors office after totally not being inactive. Minister Søreide has a concerned look upon her face upon the Ambassador mentioning his ill daughter, something that would concern any parent. She consoled the Ambassador as she looked over the desk towards him. "Oh no, I hope your daughter is okay? Is she here in Oslo or back home in Ukraine? Please pass on my thoughts to your family, it's such a horrible thing to go through." She offered a smile towards the Ambassador as she turned onto the next topic. "Well, I'm concerned over the Russian debt crisis and we both share something in common and that is the fact we both share a border with Russia, with the threat of Russian communism, what is Ukraine's thoughts on everything?"

GingeOrCringe

 

[GingeOrCringe]

He nodded, "Just a stomach bug. She was doing much better this morning--happy to stay home from school one more day and watch cartoons. I appreciate your concern and will pass on your regards," he offered a small smile before taking a sip of the coffee. "The Ukrainian people have no interest in a return to communism. Violent foreign imposition would be the only way for such a government to return to Ukraine. We were interested in distancing ourselves from Russia before, but seeing chaos break out in the streets of Moscow is pressuring our government even further towards Western friendships. Unfortunately, as you have pointed out, we do share a border. This means we cannot simply sever ties and expect all will be well. We are hoping to provide some economic relief to our neighbors and thus diminish some of the appeal of communism. What are Norways plans to combat this situation?"

Zak