[1][2] Robert Woltz Skiff was Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Fiji beginning November 1, 1971,[3] when the Embassy was established.

[6] He also condemned statements of public figures predicting coups if they, their party, or their race is not successful in the next parliamentary election, saying that such threats were "absolutely despicable in a free, democratic society" and constituted "the worst form of scaremongering.

"[7] Lyons said that the amnesty for perpetrators of the 1987 coups had been an error of judgement and had set a precedent which could negatively affect the future unless stopped now.

He concurred with statements made by a number of Fijian politicians, including deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and Senator Adi Koila Nailatikau, that a coup culture had taken root in Fiji.

He added a word of caution, however: "All of these positive steps ... will vanish in an instant if there is another coup or sufficient political upheaval questioning the legitimacy of future elections."

[10] Fiji's response to its deteriorating relations with the United States and other Western countries has been to turn to Asia for new political and economic partners.

In July 2007, Fiji's Interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry outlined his country's "Look North" foreign policy: The previous month, Interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, the author of the 2006 coup, had called upon the international community to normalise its relations with Fiji, following his pledge to restore democracy by 2009.

"[14] In October, Fiji's High Court ruled that the interim government was not illegal, as it had been appointed by the President, who had acted within the lawful provisions of his authority.

[15] The United States government responded that it did not intend to alter its position, and that the "suspension of certain US assistance to the Fiji government under section 508 of the foreign operations appropriations act will remain in place, until the President or Secretary of State determines that Fiji has made measurable progress toward the restoration of democratic rule".

[16] In April 2009, however, the Fiji High Court of Appeals overruled the original decision, stating instead that Bainimarama's coup was in fact unconstitutional and his post-coup regime is an illegal government.