[Lauchenoiria]

Lauchenoirian Guardian

Alvarez urges ‘trade war’ countries to seek solution quickly
8th August 2019

Prime Minister Josephine Alvarez has urged four nations currently involved in trade disputes to “seek a peaceful and prompt solution” before the economic damage spreads across the IDU. Zamastan, Xiomera, Kerlile and Trive are presently locked in a battle of increasing sanctions and trade embargoes, which began following a request by Xiomera to Zamastan, asking them, along with Laeral and Lauchenoiria, to extradite four dissident journalists.

The dispute began after President Anya Bishop of Zamastan denounced Xiomeran censorship and placed sanctions on the nation, saying: “We stand against the Emperor’s efforts to undermine democracy and the truth, which we here in Zamastan will continue to and always have supported unconditionally.” The initial sanctions targeted luxury products and food.

This led to anti-Zamastan protests in Xiomera, which led to Zamastan threatening to devalue their currency. The dispute escalated after Kerlile joined Xiomera in sanctioning Zamastan in return, following discussions of a deal between the two authoritarian states. Zamastan in turn sanctioned Kerlile. Trive was also dragged into the dispute after they hacked the Kerlian broadcasting system, in what has been widely condemned as an attack on Kerlian sovereignty.

The ambassadors to Sanctaria from the four involved nations were summoned to a meeting with Sanctarian Trade Secretary, Julia Griffin, this morning, in which they were told to “get [their] act together”. Griffin also said that she “urged the nations to come together under a mediator to resolve the trade issues before they escalate further.”

Prime Minister Alvarez commented on the dispute today, saying: “I hope this dispute will be resolved before it has a detrimental effect on the world economy. It is not my place to assign blame in this scenario, and I hope that all the parties involved can come together, discuss their issues and find a better way to resolve this than ever-increasing sanctions, and attacks on the sovereignty of other nations.”