Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of any potential Russian invasion of Ukraine on security and political stability in the Balkan region.

We are observing a concerning pattern of Russian behaviour that threatens the rules-based international system and aims to hamper the Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the Western Balkans and elsewhere. As set out in the Integrated Review, the UK takes the threat from the Russian State extremely seriously and we will continue to call out Russian aggression. The Prime Minister has appointed Sir Stuart Peach as Special Envoy to the Western Balkans. He has long experience in the region, as former UK Chief of the Defence Staff and Chair of NATO's military committee. Sir Stuart is undertaking extensive travel across the region and working closely with international partners to promote regional stability, security and reconciliation. In addition, we are using our diplomatic heft, and our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund programmes to strengthen regional stability, increase resilience against hostile state activity and cyber-attacks.