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 the UK of international sanctions against Russia.

The effect of sanctions so far imposed by the EU is on individuals from Crimea and Russia most closely involved in violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The EU has been clear that it would move to impose a package of wider economic sanctions if there is a lack of progress on the diplomatic front and further moves by Russia against Ukraine. Such measures would have consequences for the UK's commercial relationship with Russia, and for those of other EU Member States, but the clear aim would be to demonstrate to Russia that there are wider consequences for its actions in Ukraine, while minimising the impact on the EU.