PARIS, EARTH — The Palais de la Concorde announced that President Bacco has accepted an invitation to visit the new Romulan capital of Rihan on Rator III later this year.
The new Imperial Senate of the Romulan Star Empire had extended the invitation to the Federation President earlier this year in a move widely seen by foreign affairs analysts as an attempt by the new Senate to secure its legitimacy as the rightful successor to the original Imperial Senate that was destroyed on Romulus by the Hobus supernova in 2387. President Bacco’s trip will be the first visit to the Romulan Star Empire by a sitting Federation president in nearly a century.
Some Federation Council members are opposed to the visit, citing the Romulan Star Empire’s current conflict with the Romulan Republic, the breakaway democratic nation whose sovereignty is not recognized by the Empire.
“How can President Bacco accept the invitation to dine with the same people who are butchering those Romulans who simply want a free and democratic government?” asked Councilor Mara Kell of Betazed.
Others however see the potential for a rekindling of amicable Federation-Romulan relations, which first began in earnest during the Dominion War alliance and then were renewed again after Starfleet assisted the Romulan military in defeating Praetor Shinzon following his coup d’état in 2379. Relations between the two powers had cooled somewhat during the 2380s, but Romulan affairs experts agree that the Federation’s post-Hobus relief efforts have gone a long way in strengthening the historically tenuous relationship.
“If anything, this is a chance for the Federation to reestablish strong diplomatic relations with our former Dominion War ally,” said Dr. Keahvon of the Cerberus Group, a San Francisco think tank. “In the aftermath of Hobus, Federation generosity was given to numerous Romulan refugees at a time when many other powers, including the Klingons, chose to take advantage of their weakened state. The Romulan people have long memories, and they have certainly not forgotten that.”
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