Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Turkey on its desire to acquire nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Turkey is a party of the international nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has been part of a nuclear-sharing programme among NATO allies. We expect Turkey to continue to respect its obligations as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. We will continue to monitor any claims that Turkey wishes to obtain nuclear weapons.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his US counterpart on the importance of that country's continuing co-operation under the Open Skies Treaty.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Senior officials from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence have raised the topic with their US counterparts, emphasising that we believe the Treaty remains a valuable Confidence and Security Building Measure which contributes to military transparency and reducing the risk of conflict.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the sanctions regime on Russia.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Sanctions are having an impact on Russia, exacerbating negative trends in its economy following the oil price collapse of 2014 and rooted in deep seated structural weakness. Financial sector sanctions continue to make it expensive and hard for designated Russian entities to access western finance and have a general chilling effect on foreign investment in Russia. Sanctions were not designed to impose a particular, specific, degree of pain on Russia’s economy or on the Russian people. They were designed to deliver a cost for Russia’s adventurism in Ukraine. Maintaining focus on existing Russia/Ukraine sanctions is more important than ever to continue to pressure Russia to change its Ukraine policy.
Russia has also been affected by the EU Chemical Weapons sanctions regime. Although the regime does not target one country, the designation of the two GRU officials, who are responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Salisbury, as well as the Head and Deputy Head of the GRU, sends a powerful and collective message that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his US counterpart on the Open Skies Treaty.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Although the Foreign Secretary has not raised this with his US counterpart, senior officials from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence have raised the topic with their US counterparts, emphasising the United Kingdom's commitment to the Treaty, which forms an important part of the Rules-Based International System.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what arrangements exist to monitor (a) civilian and (b) military nuclear capability in China.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
China is subject to oversight of its civil capability under the Voluntary Offer Agreement it signed with the International Atomic Energy Agency on facility safeguards. As a fellow member of the P5, we work with China on a range of issues including nuclear questions. The P5 process, an informal working group for discussing issues related to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of which China is a signatory, provides a forum for discussions on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear technology.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the process for (a) distributing and (b) grading of diplomatic telegrams of a sensitive nature; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) gave evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 10 July on the recent leak of classified information official documents, which covered Diplomatic Telegrams. Formal correspondence from diplomats, including these, is marked either OFFICIAL, OFFICIAL SENSITIVE or SECRET in line with government policy.
We use the Cabinet Office Government Security Classification policy as a guide to classifying all FCO information and its subsequent handling. We are confident we have good security systems. Nevertheless we are reviewing how they are functioning in light of recent events. The new cross-government SECRET system developed by the Cabinet Office now also provides enhanced secure communication in the majority of our posts around the world and across government.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's policy is toward Belarus.
Answered by Alan Duncan
UK engagement in Europe's Eastern Neighbourhood is focused on building regional stability, encouraging reform and promoting prosperity. For Belarus, this means encouraging economic reform, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and more responsible participation in the international rules-based system.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic activity there has been with Belarus.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK has steadily increased its engagement with Belarus since the release of political prisoners in August 2015 and consequent lifting of the majority of EU Restrictive Measures in February 2016. I met President Lukashenka and Foreign Minister Makei in October 2017 in Minsk and FM Makei again in London in March 2018. I last met the Belarusian Ambassador on 30 April. Our officials maintain regular discussions with their Belarusian counterparts, via our Embassy in Minsk, and through multilateral fora, such as the EU, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and UN.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he make an assessment of the effectiveness of paragraph 8 of UN Security Council Resolution 598 in relation to consultations with Iran on current disputes.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
We assess that ongoing dialogue with all Middle East countries and partners remains critical for protecting security and stability in the region. We welcome any measures that serve to improve that dialogue and reduce tensions. We are concerned by the general risks of unintended escalation, which would not be in any party’s interests. We are in touch with our key partners and advising Iran not to take any escalatory steps.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's definition is of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine; and what steps the Government plans to take to help achieve that solution.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The UK’s longstanding position on the Middle East Peace Process is clear: we support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state; based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees. We consistently call for an immediate end to all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution, including terrorism, anti-Semitic incitement, settlement expansion, and the demolition of Palestinian property in the West Bank. Steps to transform the situation in Gaza are also needed. At this highly sensitive time in the region, there is an urgent need to restart the peace process between Israel and Palestine. We regularly press both parties to resume direct negotiations towards a two-state solution.