Leaving the embassy’s reception room, I glanced around before taking out my phone.
Then I called dvedev. The line connected after only a few rings.
“dvedev.”
— Mr. Kim. I was just about to call you myself. It’s about that Usoyan matter...
“Sorry, but let’s talk about that later. Can you connect to the President?”
— Putin? Is sothing wrong?
I gave him a brief summary of the situation. After listening, his voice carried clear satisfaction.
— You’ve already started negotiations? Haha, as expected of you, Mr. Kim. You move fast. He’s in a eting with the ministers right now, but I’ll let him know. Hold on a mont, please.
While waiting for dvedev’s reply, I gathered my thoughts.
What could Russia gain from this? If Arica was in such a heated state, perhaps it could agree to reduce Russia’s debt owed to it?
— Muhyuk, you were looking for ?
Putin’s voice from across the line pulled from my thoughts.
“Putin, sorry to disturb you when you’re busy.”
— It’s fine. So, you’re negotiating with the Aricans?
“Yes. I’m eting Secretary Powell and National Security Advisor Rice. But they’re questioning whether I can really persuade you.”
A quiet sigh ca from the receiver. His reaction wasn’t bad, so I continued.
“If you have the ti, would you make a call yourself?”
— Understood.
“Please don’t call my cell phone. Call the U.S. Embassy in Seoul instead. It’ll have more impact.”
— Haha, looks like you’re planning a show. All right.
After ending the call with Putin, I returned to the reception room. A mont later, the phone on the ambassador’s desk began to ring loudly.
“Answer it. It’ll be Putin.”
Startled, Powell hurriedly pressed the speaker button.
— This is Putin. Secretary Powell, correct?
“Mr. President, it’s been a while.”
Powell seed to recognize Putin’s voice right away.
— Haha, yes, it’s been a while. We haven’t t since the Kremlin, have we? It’s been too long since we last spoke.
“Yes, we haven’t t since then. But what brings you to call personally, Mr. President?”
— Ah, forgive , I got carried away with greetings. I can’t stay on long, but consider Mr. Muhyuk there my representative. You can proceed with negotiations as if speaking directly to .
Everyone in the room turned to look at with astonishnt.
I t their gazes calmly, smiling softly.
— If he can’t persuade you, I can’t either. Keep that in mind. That’s all.
With those final words, Putin hung up. The sound of the disconnection echoed in the room. I spoke quietly.
“I think that should be a sufficient answer.”
Powell, still staring at the phone in disbelief, slowly nodded.
“Very well. Let’s proceed with real negotiations now.”
This wouldn’t be settled quickly.
Realizing that, Powell checked the ti and turned to Rice.
“Rice, cancel the rest of our schedule.”
“Sir, even the Blue House appointnts...?”
“The President and Rumsfeld are handling that, aren’t they? This is more important.”
“Sigh... Understood. I’ll make the calls.”
Rice gave a sharp look before stepping out.
Once the door closed, Powell spoke again about what had happened the day before.
“I don’t know the details, but it seems there was so misunderstanding. Once this negotiation ends, I’ll look into it thoroughly. I just hope it won’t interfere with today’s discussion.”
“Of course. That’s a separate matter.”
It seed Powell was determined to win Russia’s support no matter what.
Why was he so desperate about this? I wanted to clear that up before we continued.
“Secretary Powell, may I ask you one question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you pushing so hard for this UN resolution? I can’t understand the reason. The U.S., the U.K., and your allies are more than capable of capturing Hussein and forming a new governnt.”
Powell sighed, his expression turning serious.
“I’m a man who has seen war. Panama, the Gulf—both under my command.”
I already knew that, but I nodded.
For a mont, his face twisted slightly, as if the mories weighed on him.
“You’ve never experienced war firsthand, have you, Charlie? I know the horrors too well. That’s why I believe we must pressure Iraq through diplomacy, not war. A UN resolution would be an imnse burden on Hussein.”
“Couldn’t you just pass the resolution through the General Assembly?”
There were two kinds of UN resolutions—those passed by the Security Council and those passed by the General Assembly.
“Even if the General Assembly approves, it carries no binding force. But a Security Council resolution is different. It has legal authority—and allows the use of force.”
As he said, resolutions passed by the General Assembly were often aningless without overwhelming approval, and even then, they were rely recomndations.
If the very organization ford for global peace couldn’t speak with a unified voice, what was its purpose?
“So, you don’t want another war.”
“That’s right. Call weak if you like. But wars demand our people’s blood. If we can avoid it, we should. That’s why I insisted—let’s try a UN resolution first.”
There wasn’t a trace of falsehood in his face.
“If there’s a condition to secure Russia’s support, I’ll personally convince Bush. Just please persuade Putin.”
“Understood.”
Just then, Rice returned.
“Mr. Secretary, all appointnts are canceled.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Once she sat down, the real negotiation began.
Powell listed several concessions the U.S. could offer if Russia abstained—but I stared at him in disbelief.
“Powell, there’s no sincerity in this.”
“What do you an? These are generous offers, especially from Russia’s perspective.”
He genuinely didn’t understand.
“These conditions aren’t worth Russia’s abstention. The best one you’ve got is recognizing Russia’s market economy. But you were going to do that soon anyway. I know for a fact the U.S. and EU are already negotiating it behind closed doors. Do you really think Putin doesn’t know that?”
Powell sighed and turned to Rice, who nodded slightly.
“Whoever ca up with that idea clearly underestimated Putin. Thinking he’d abstain for that is an insult.”
“Then what exactly do you want? What kind of offer would Putin accept?”
Instead of answering, I lifted my glass, took a sip, then set it down.
“Let’s start with sothing simple. When the U.S. invades Iraq, Russia will launch its Third War in Chechnya. This ti, they’ll put soone aligned with Moscow at the forefront. When that happens, do nothing.”
“...What do you an?”
“Chechnya is different from Iraq. It’s Russian territory. All I ask is that you make no statent, take no stance. This isn’t a bad deal for the U.S. either.”
“How do you figure that? How is that not bad for us?”
At the ntion of Chechnya, both Powell and Rice looked confused.
For Arica, the self-proclaid guardian of liberal values, being told to stay silent must have sounded absurd.
“Because it changes the narrative. Rember your slogan? The ‘War on Terror.’ The world will see Russia acting in line with that sa cause. Chechen terrorism and Islamic terrorism share the sa roots, after all.”
It was semantics, but in international politics, perception shapes reality.
“For the first ti in half a century since World War II, Russia and the U.S. would move in unison. You two ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) know better than anyone how powerful that image would be.”
“When you put it that way... Rice, your thoughts?”
“It’s an acceptable proposal. In fact, one we should accept.”
Her approval made Powell smile faintly.
“Good. I’ll need to run it by the President, of course, but this is sothing we can agree to.”
Since I already held the initiative, I decided to throw in one of Putin’s long-cherished dreams.
“The second request is a bit tougher.”
“The second?”
“The first one helps Arica. Russia will wage war on Chechnya regardless of your stance—just as you’ll invade Iraq no matter who opposes you.”
Powell sighed and nodded, gesturing for to go on.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Don’t oppose the project to link Russia and Europe by rail.”
“What?”
Rice’s voice shot up. Powell looked equally startled.
“I an the Eurasian Railway—starting from South Korea, passing through North Korea, connecting to the Trans-Siberian, and extending into Europe through Germany and the EU.”
“That’s impossible. Absolutely not.”
Rice shook her head firmly, her expression hard.
Powell nodded in agreent.
“Charlie, this one we cannot accept.”
“Even though it has nothing to do with the U.S.?”
“That’s precisely why it’s a problem!” Rice snapped.
“I agree with her. It’s absolutely unacceptable.”
A railway uniting Europe and Asia—Putin’s lifelong dream.
— Muhyuk, my dream is to build a railway that begins in Korea, crosses North Korea, runs through Siberia, and reaches Europe. Just thinking about it makes my heart soar.
In my previous life, it had never co true—not even by the ti I died.
There had been many reasons, but Arica’s opposition was the greatest.
A railway linking Europe and Asia could create a single economic bloc.
That would isolate Arica—separated by oceans, watching from afar.
There was no way the U.S. would ever allow that.
“I didn’t expect such strong opposition.”
“Even without Russia’s support, that’s sothing we can never accept. It goes against Arican interests entirely.”
Powell was, above all, an Arican loyal to Arica’s benefit.
Even after hours of discussion, our positions remained unmoved. He wouldn’t yield an inch.
“Fine. I’ll concede on that point. But in return, when Russia makes a future request, the U.S. will refrain from using its veto power.”
“Deal. Then if we accept both terms, we can expect Russia’s abstention in the UN Security Council vote?”
We both rose and shook hands. A trade—sothing lost, sothing gained. Both sides satisfied.
“I’ll convince the President myself. Let’s hope this ends well.”
“Understood. I’ll report it to President Putin.”
Bush would surely approve. It could beco one of his administration’s achievents.
Leaving the embassy first, I looked back.
When I’d entered, the sun had still been up—but now the sky was pitch-dark, not a single star in sight.
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