(Tonbridge and Malling) (Con): It is a great pleasure
to hear the statement from my right hon. Friend the Foreign
Secretary, who has laid out an impressive, decent and strong series
of proposals, and it is very pleasing to hear the Opposition agree
as well. Building on the discussions that he has so clearly had
with various of our allies, what conversations has he had with
Germany? I raise Germany, in particular, because the Nord
Stream 2project that is currently going through is
allowing the Russian Government to salami-slice our eastern
neighbours and friends one by one, and what we are seeing in
Belarus could easily happen in other countries. Although Belarus is
the last country in the world still to have an active KGB, we hope
that it will not become the first of many to have an active SVR
base very soon.
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs and First Secretary of State (): I thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to him and the
work of his Committee. I had a detailed discussion on this with
Heiko Maas, my German opposite number, at Chevening, along with
Jean-Yves Le Drian, my French opposite number. We have made it
clear, as my hon. Friend will know, that we have our reservations
and concerns about Nord Stream 2 both from the
point of view of its encouraging European energy dependence on
Russia, but also the impact on Ukraine. Equally, it is quite
important, given the lead Germany has taken with Alexei Navalny
and in relation to the work we need to do together on Belarus,
that we maintain European solidarity. My hon. Friend’s points are
well made and, of course, our European partners know the UK
position.
To read the complete statement, CLICK
HERE
