No, Sol doesn't have to be neutral. It would be nice, but not must and not very realistic (if such a word can be applied to a scifi setting).Just a thought occurred to me, why does Sol, the roots of all humanity, belong to the Federation.
I would like to raise this issue for all Empire and Alliance commanders.
Sol has to be neutral. It is only fair.
There is only one option for us, we need to be able to expand the Empire until we can seize control of Sol. Until then, the background simulation clearly isn't working. After all, making Rome the capital of Imperial Space just feels right to me.