Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon
Main Page: Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(8 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Anelay of St Johns
My Lords, we support Turkey in the way in which it has presented the facts of the case. Turkey has said that the Russian plane was warned 10 times in five minutes before they shot at the plane, and the US military spokesperson has corroborated that. It is clear that the most important thing at this time is that the issue is de-escalated. As President Obama and the Prime Minister here have said, it is important that all sides consider carefully their relationship with each other.
Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (LD)
My Lords, I hope that the Minister will correct me if I am wrong, but is it not the case that the last Saudi Arabian plane to join the coalition over the battlefield was seen three months ago, in September, and the last Qatari plane nine months ago, in February? If we are to ask our pilots to go in, should we not be pressuring our allies to ensure that they do not pull theirs out?
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
My Lords, it is important that all members of coalition play a strong role in whatever they may bring in the way of technical support and assistance, airpower or overflying with drones. It is a matter for command and control of the coalition to determine how best that effort is delivered.