His Majesty Discusses the Region with Valeria Ravenclaw of the BCNN
By JESSICA ALBRIGHTApril 22, 2016
Valeria Ravenclaw poses for promotional ads before her tour across Astyria,
interviewing many world leaders on current crises.Palace at Vernoir, Aquitayne -
The interview that captivated the region yesterday was monitored closely by both government and private-sector officials, jotting down ever last bit of information that came out of the King's mouth. The interview is the first leg in Valeria Ravenclaw's Across the Region Tour, an expansive endeavor that sees her scheduled to interview the most amount of Astyrian leaders of any journalist in recent memory. The Blackhelm Confederacy News Network, the official news outlet of the nation, has sponsored the tour and spent tens of millions of dollars in advertising it just in Hesperedisia alone.
The interview was a highly publicized event in Aquitayne, as well, with pubs and homes across the nation tuning in to see what the King had to say about the current problems facing Astyria. The answers were, for the most part, more than standard. He hailed the resilience and fortitude of the Aquitaynian people, and kept the rhetoric regarding the EATA and ATO to a bare minimum, not giving any ground in reiterating Aquitayne's neutral stance between the power blocs.
Valeria is known throughout the journalism community as being a hard-liner. She routinely asks the difficult and pointed questions that some find difficult to wiggle their way out of. An aid close to the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that "the Minister was very happy with the King's remarks, especially after Valeria backed him into that corner regarding the recent ViZo-Bhormakaro conflict." Indeed, the King's statement that the information regarding Bhormakaro's apparent threat to the ViZo Strait was "classified" raised more than a few eyebrows across Astyria. The King quickly backpedalled the intensity of his claim, stating that "What I am saying, is that the Bhormakaran military has the operational capabilities and resources to put pressure on the ViZion Strait."
The King touched on more domestic subjects as well, noting that Aquitayne is "on track to meet 30% of our energy needs through sustainable resources by 2020", a goal he set when he first came onto the throne. The interview, as a whole, was relaxed and very controlled, but Valeria did not hold back about BCNN's feelings towards the apparent hypocrisy regarding Aquitaynian influence - and where it chooses to use that influence. Specifically, Valeria asked a question regarding Aquitayne's stance, noting that it seemed "that the United Kingdom has had a much better relationship with the ATO than it has with EATA member states in recent years."
The King quickly dismissed the claim, reiterating Aquitayne and her allies' neutral stance between the EATA and ATO. He did, however, note that "EATA policies have put the region at risk more times than I'm comfortable with", but quickly rounded back to saying that Aquitayne and her allies retain "our neutrality, and an objective one at that." The interview continued to discuss the decision to place Aquitaynian ships in the Strait of ViZion, which the Blackhelm Confederacy has largely denounced as a move to further the conflict and militarize the region, which the Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Ministry strongly disclaim.
The next stop for Valeria is in Kobolis, a nation recently rocked by the largest and most devastating terrorist attack in Astyrian history.
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