Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the UK's relations with (a) Cuba, (b) North Korea, (c) Venezuela, (d) Russia and (e) Iran; and if he will make a statement.

The UK’s bilateral relations with Cuba cover a broad range of foreign policy subjects including climate change, counter narcotics, trade and human rights. We continue to engage with the Cuban government to strengthen bilateral relations and promote reform. This includes support for recent economic changes such as a new foreign investment law, and by raising human rights concerns where appropriate.

The UK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have had formal bilateral relations since December 2000. Since then, the UK has concentrated on two main foreign policy areas: counter-proliferation and human rights. Our policy of “critical engagement” is intended to promote incremental change: it allows us directly to communicate issues of substantial concern, and focuses on exposing people in North Korea to international values and the benefits of engaging with the international community. Our Embassy in Pyongyang helps to improve our understanding of what is happening inside the country, as well as providing support for small-scale projects aimed at improving the lives of the most vulnerable in DPRK society.

The UK and Venezuela have a constructive and practical relationship and engage in cooperation in areas of mutual interest: our counternarcotics cooperation is vital in tackling illegal drugs trafficking; we are engaging closely ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations; and our trade links support economic development in both countries, particularly in the oil sector. We have been following the political situation in Venezuela closely and were deeply saddened by the deaths that occurred in protests earlier this year. The British Government called on all sides to reduce tension and take steps to promote political reconciliation through genuine dialogue.

The UK has endeavoured over the past 23 years to build a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Russia, to support its integration into the international community and international rules-based system. By its illegal annexation of Crimea, and its aggressive destabilisation of south eastern Ukraine, the Russian leadership has rejected that offer of partnership and instead chosen a path of confrontation. We deeply regret this. Moscow needs to understand that military aggression, destabilisation of a sovereign neighbour, and flouting of international commitments have serious consequences. So whilst we need to maintain a relationship with Russia that enables dialogue and ongoing co-operation on high priority global issues, it cannot be business-as-usual. The UK hopes that the Russian leadership will take the necessary steps to help secure a lasting peace in eastern Ukraine that restores respect for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and enables Russia to return to a constructive relationship with the rest of the world.

Following the attack on our Embassy in Iran on 29 November 2011, diplomatic relations with Iran were reduced to their lowest level possible, but were not completely severed. Over the past year, we have been seeking to improve UK/Iran relations on a step-by-step and reciprocal basis. Most recently, My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met President Rouhani on 24 September in the margins of the UN General Assembly - the first such meeting since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Both agreed that there had been significant differences between our countries in the past, and that we should seek to progressively improve our bilateral relationship.