Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to the Syrian opposition to assist delivery of essential services.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
In the current financial year, the UK has allocated £27 million of non-humanitarian aid to support the work of the National Coalition and Interim Government, local councils, non-government organisations, civil society, media and human rights activists in Syria. We are providing a range of support to Syrians to help save lives, bolster civil society, counter extremism, promote human rights and accountability, deliver basic governance and help lay the foundations for a more peaceful and inclusive future for Syria.
As part of this, in the past 12 months the Government has provided £2.3 million in support for local governance in opposition-controlled areas in Syria. This funding has enabled the training of local officials to help them ensure the provision of essential services to ordinary Syrians in their towns and villages, including vital infrastructure repair and rehabilitation projects which meet the needs of local people. We plan for this project to continue for at least one more year. The UK is committed to helping the Syrian people who continue to suffer after more than three years of conflict.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
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 implementation of the Minsk Protocol by all parties to the agreement.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
We are concerned by continued breaches of the ceasefire which was agreed in Minsk on 5 September and urge all parties to implement the Minsk Protocol in full so peace and stability can return to eastern Ukraine. Russia’s actions - troop movements, further convoys without the permission of the Ukrainian government, and Russia’s respect for the results of illegitimate separatist elections - are unacceptable. These actions have increased tensions in Ukraine and further call into question the sincerity of Russia’s commitment to de-escalate tensions and fulfill commitments they made in Minsk and elsewhere.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps at an EU-level to increase the size of the sanctions regime against Russia in response to the security situation in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
As the Prime Minister made clear to President Putin at the G20 meeting in Brisbane, unless Russia follows through on its obligations, and we see real progress towards peace in Ukraine, with full respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, additional sanctions could be imposed. We are working with partners on contingency plans for that eventuality.
Sanctions are an important element in the range of diplomatic measures we are undertaking to effect a change in Russia’s behaviour. EU sanctions against Russia are regularly reviewed. Most recently, on 18 December, the Council of the European Union expanded the scope of sanctions in Crimea and Sevastopol, and on 4 December sectoral sanctions against Russian companies were revised.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
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 effect of EU-wide sanctions on Russia's policy towards Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
Sanctions are an important element of the range of diplomatic measures we are undertaking to effect a change in Russia’s behaviour. EU sanctions are delivering a significant cost to Russia for its actions in Ukraine. The fall in the global oil price has driven an economic slump in Russia, including a shrinking economy and sharply declining currency. The wide-ranging restrictions of EU and US economic sanctions are exacerbating these negative trends. For Russia to remove the pressure of sanctions it will need to change its policy towards Ukraine.Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Hadi al-Bahra on the humanitarian situation in Kobane.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
We had regular discussions with Hadi al-Bahra, while he was President of the Syrian National Coalition, most notably through the UK Special Representative for Syria. The UK Special Representative last met President al-Bahra on 18 December. I held detailed discussions with President al-Bahra on the situation in Syria when they met in London on 10 November 2014. All of these discussions covered the humanitarian situation throughout the whole of Syria as well as UK support to the Syrian opposition and the wider political process.
The Department for International Development have already responded to the urgent needs of Syrian refugees that have fled from Kobane to Turkey, by working with the relevant authorities and our partners to provide mattresses, non-food items and shelter for distribution to the most needy families. We stand ready to respond positively should further aid be needed.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
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 security situation around Mount Sinjar.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
I welcome the military operations conducted by Iraqi forces in northern Iraq, to remove Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the area of Mount Sinjar. Reports suggest that early in these operations Kurdish Peshmerga, supported by Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition airstrikes, were able quickly to remove ISIL from villages and towns north of Mount Sinjar. The situation remains fluid as fighting continues but on 6 January Iraqi forces were reported to have retaken much of Sinjar city.Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iraqi counterpart on the refugees on Mount Sinjar.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The UK has worked closely with coalition partners and Iraqi authorities, including the Kurdistan Regional Government, to alleviate the humanitarian situation around Mount Sinjar including delivering humanitarian aid by airdrops. In August, hundreds of Yazidi civilians became trapped around Mount Sinjar when fleeing ISIL. We are in close contact with partner agencies, including the UN, on the humanitarian situation in Iraq. We regularly discuss the situation in Iraq with the Iraqi government at both ministerial and official level, most recently when I met Iraqi Foreign Minister HE Dr Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, on 5 January 2015.Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests the UK has received for additional support from the Kurdistan regional government.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The UK remains committed to the stability and security of Iraq. To date we have provided substantial support to the Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities to combat the ISIL threat, including airstrikes, Intelligence, surveillance and targeting support, training and lethal and non-lethal military equipment.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) submit formal requests for assistance to the international coordination cell in Erbil, the Organisation for Security Cooperation Iraq (OSC-I), on a weekly basis.
We continue to look at ways in which we can support Kurdish forces, in coordination with the federal government of Iraq, and consider additional requests for equipment or training as they are received.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the interception of Russian aircraft by NATO forces over the Baltic.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The UK has made no direct representations to the government of Russia on this issue. We strongly support recent comments made by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General Stoltenberg calling on Russia to obey the norms of international air traffic. On 2 December NATO Foreign Ministers also agreed on the need to maintain contact through NATO/Russia military channels to help ensure that Russian military flights, or naval activities, do not give rise to unintended accidents or escalation.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour (Co-op) - Lothian East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what changes his Department is planning to the number of its staff based in Afghanistan.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The total number of UK civilian staff in Afghanistan, excluding security and logistics personnel, will reduce from approximately 180 staff at present to approximately 110 staff by 2015.