To: Crayter Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Crayter Republic]

Minister,

I expected something like this to happen, though I suppose I didn't count on Lady Mountbatten's.. flamboyance with her selection of words. Understand that it is still of great interest to Crayter to develop and build ties with the Gallic Union and her people, despite what may be construed from the Bretonian Secretary's transmission.

Our initial interest was ending the war with Kusari, of which they had declared just before their invasion of the Confederacy. A pact of mutual defense against the Union was one topic brought up just beforehand, and we agreed solely as a security blanket against yet another war. With the sole exception of the detainment of Admiral Dupouy, of whom Crayter firmly believes is a war criminal who has so far received no reprimand for the actions that took place under his guidance, the demands made by Bretonia in line with the pact are primarily to the benefit of them and them alone, as I'm sure you can tell. Crayter, during the inter-war period before Kusari's invasion, had already secured an agreement with EFL over trade lane maintenance within Tau-31, which we are electing to default to over the terms of the treaty.

It is still very much the belief of the Republic that building ties to the Union will only further both our nations' goals. Added security never hurts, if not for the Republic then for our people, and I believe in our position the Union would do much the same. In the interest of further cooperation, we will continue to allow Gallic shipping, official personnel, and civilians to transit Crayter space freely. We intend to follow the spirit of the pact to the letter, and wish to assure you that we have no intention of following Bretonia or Kusari should they make any aggressive approaches towards Gallia with the intent of feigning a defensive retaliation.

I hope this offers at least some insight as to our decisions in this matter. It was never the intent of the Republic to undermine the security of the Gallic Union; only to ensure the security of our people against the threat of yet another war. I hope the Union will understand and accept our reasoning.

In service to the Republic.

Lily Ward
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Crayter Republic