Asked by Lord Truscott To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps
they are taking (1) to ensure that all parties implement the Minsk
II protocol, and (2) to defuse the tensions over Ukraine. The
Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
(Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con) My Lords, the Government support
the Minsk protocols to deliver peaceful resolution to the conflict
in full respect of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We...Request free trial
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking (1) to
ensure that all parties implement the Minsk II protocol, and (2)
to defuse the tensions over Ukraine.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office () (Con)
My Lords, the Government support the Minsk protocols to deliver
peaceful resolution to the conflict in full respect of Ukrainian
sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have condemned Russia’s
aggressive acts and are working closely with our allies and
partners to hold Russia to the commitments it signed up to
freely, including the Helsinki Final Act, the Minsk protocols and
the Budapest memorandum.
(Non-Afl)
I thank the Minister for that reply. The problem is that Russia
does not see NATO as a defensive alliance—rather, it sees it as a
group of countries, some of which are openly hostile to Russia,
refusing to give any security guarantees while expanding
eastwards to Russia’s borders. Unfortunately, the memories of
NATO’s bombings of Tripoli and Belgrade are fresh. We are facing
a very different series of global threats since the Atlantic
alliance was formed in 1949. President Macron talked about a new
security framework for Europe; perhaps this is something Her
Majesty’s Government should think about to secure lasting peace
for future generations.
(Con)
My Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, NATO is a defensive
alliance. It was interesting to hear in the recent Statement of
my right honourable friend the Defence Secretary—this is relevant
to what we are discussing—that only 1/16th of the Russian border
is actually shared with a NATO country. NATO is a defensive
alliance, and it remains so. It is serving its purpose. We are
working in unity, because what is required now is not just unity
of words —it is unity of purpose and, indeed, unity of
action.
(Con)
My Lords, I have just been to a meeting with the Ukrainian
ambassador, where we discussed the Budapest memorandum. These
were assurances given by the Russian Federation in 1994 that it
would respect the sovereignty of Ukraine, which, of course,
included the borders with Crimea. Putin has reneged on this.
Should the international community not come together and condemn
this bad faith from Putin and now the Russian Federation, and do
it both at the United Nations and elsewhere?
(Con)
My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that what we have seen
from Russia is pure aggression. We should not forget that it is
an occupying power in Crimea. We have come together; we are
acting together within the context of the NATO alliance. My noble
friend importantly points to discussions at the UN, and I assure
him that we are engaging directly with partners but also
bilaterally with Russia.
(LD)
My Lords, the Normandy format is still of great importance. Are
there any British officials taking part in the talks in Paris
today under the Normandy process? The Minister knows that part of
the Minsk II agreement is over the area of disputed territorial
lines. The Prime Minister told the House of Commons
yesterday:
“I think what we need to do, if I may say so, is build up an
instant, automatic package of western sanctions that will come in
automatically in the event of a single toecap of a Russian
incursion into more of Ukraine.”—[Official Report, Commons,
25/1/22; col. 872.]
Is there agreement among all the western powers and our allies
about what qualifies as incursion? We may well be asked to
legislate in haste. Therefore, it is vital to know what an
incursion is.
(Con)
My Lords, on sanctions, let me assure the noble Lord—I know this
is of interest to all noble Lords—that we are working very
closely with all our allies and partners, particularly those who
have such regimes. This is not an empty threat; this is a clear
sanction against Russia for any incursion it makes in terms of
territorial sovereignty. On noble Lord’s first question: that is
not a group the UK directly participates in. We are aware of the
meeting today; it is being held at political advisers’ level, and
Russia is participating. I have seen some of the detail emerging,
and I would not hold out too much hope as yet.
(Lab)
My Lords, as a young NATO soldier, I was occasionally in charge
of the nightly train from Hanover to Berlin, to establish our
rights of passage, despite Russian intransigence. Will the
Government, while continuing to affirm our rights, use every
diplomatic means to reduce fears of any expansion of NATO that
may not have much practical importance?
(Con)
My Lords, as the noble and learned Lord will know from his own
experience, insight and expertise, it is for a country to make an
application to NATO. NATO is a defensive alliance, and when an
application is made, a procedure is followed for allowing entry
to new members. On the wider point about engaging with Russia and
ensuring that every diplomatic channel is open, we are doing
exactly that: there is extensive diplomatic engagement at every
level, including from my right honourable friend the Prime
Minister, my right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary and
the Defence Secretary, and other Ministers.
(CB)
My Lords, if you follow on a daily basis the press reporting in
both France and Germany, there is a narrative developing, that if
only the United Kingdom and the US were less alarmist, the
tensions could be reduced. That shows that reliable information
is becoming increasingly important. I urge the Minister to look
at two things: whether the BBC World Service is sufficiently
covering the area; and whether those within the FCDO have the
required language skills to ensure they are on top of any
information that is coming out?
(Con)
My Lords, on the noble Baroness’s second point, the FCDO has
established language skills training for diplomats, and we engage
directly, through those language skills, with countries around
the world. Of course, there is always room to do more. I will
follow up the matter that she raises about the BBC and see
whether more can be done, but, of course, that is directly a
decision for the BBC.
(Con)
My Lords, does the Minister not accept that the Minsk II
agreement has not been implemented on either side, and that what
we need is to get negotiations going on an open basis between
Russia and Ukraine, with the help of the French and the Germans,
so that we can dial down the tensions and not keep on inching
towards conflict, which is going to do no good to anyone and end
up with body bags being sent back to Britain?
(Con)
My Lords, no one wants to see body bags. But it is for
Russia—Russia is the aggressor here. A key point is Crimea:
Russia is occupying, under international law, sovereign territory
of another country. We should not lose sight of that. We are
seeking to work with our alliances, including NATO. We are
working with key partners, and I have assured noble Lords that we
continue to engage directly with the Russians as well.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister refers to action required to stop Russia
taking this aggressive act. On Tuesday, told the House of Commons
that the Government were bringing forward a register of
beneficial ownership as part of their efforts to track down
Russian money in this country. However, the noble Lord, , who had oversight of
counterfraud, revealed in his resignation letter to on Monday that, in a decision
apparently taken last week, the economic crime Bill has been
rejected for consideration during the next parliamentary year.
Who is correct? I know who I believe.
(Con)
My Lords, first, I acknowledge from our side, and indeed from
across the House, the valuable services of my noble friend , who served this House well. I
recognise the important role he has played. As someone who has
great respect for my noble friend, I listened carefully to the
statement he made. The issue of illicit finance is important and
it is a key priority for this Government. My right honourable
friend the Prime Minister has committed once again to ensuring
that we weed out the fact that London is still used—I fully
accept this—as a base for money laundering and illicit finance by
some. We need to take further action. On the specific point about
the Bill, I will refer to my colleagues at the Treasury and write
to the noble Lord.
My Lords, it is right that we attend to the situation in Russia,
but Ukraine is a deeply divided country. The situation is not
helped by, for example, Ukraine’s decision three years ago to
make Ukrainian the national language, precluding the involvement
of some 50% of Russians in the south and east of the country, who
speak only Russian. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to
bring economic development and social cohesion to try to
strengthen and bolster the life of Ukraine, as it faces this
threat?
(Con)
The right reverend Prelate is of course correct that it is
important to recognise the diversity of different communities,
and indeed different people, within Ukraine. Ukraine is a partner
and we are working in a very constructive way. While the focus
right now is rightly on the security of Ukraine, I assure the
right reverend Prelate that we have a full range of programmes,
relating to both the economic empowerment of countries and
communities and working with civil society. I visited Ukraine
just before Christmas and saw directly, for example, how faith
communities are working together. There is a lot of work still to
be done, but we are working directly and constructively with
Ukraine in various areas.
|
