Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
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 implications for his policies of the decision of the House on 13 October 2014 in respect of recognition of Palestine.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I have discussed the debate with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials. I reiterated that we share Parliament’s commitment to recognising a Palestinian State as a contribution to a negotiated two state solution, at a time most helpful to the peace process. The UK is a long-standing supporter of seeing a sovereign, democratic and viable Palestinian State - living in peace and security, alongside Israel.Asked by: Andrew Turner (Conservative - Isle of Wight)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, by what process Tony Blair was appointed to the post of Middle East peace envoy; and who approved that appointment.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
Tony Blair was appointed by the Quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia) as the representative of the Middle East Quartet in June 2007. The Quartet principals (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana) approved his appointment.