Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking any steps, in collaboration with international partners, to encourage peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We support a just and sustainable peace which restores Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, underpinned by the UN Charter. President Zelenskyy has clearly indicated Ukraine's desire for peace in his Peace Formula, which reflects principles supported by 141 countries in the UN General Assembly. The UK has supported Ukraine to convene senior officials from G7 and several G20 countries, to discuss principles for a just peace. We welcome the planned conference in Switzerland to discuss these principles further. By contrast, Russia's continued actions on the battlefield demonstrate that President Putin has no meaningful interest in a just peace. It will be for Ukraine to determine its position in any negotiations, just as it is for Ukraine to decide its democratic future and long-term security arrangements. The quickest path to peace would be for President Putin to withdraw all Russian troops illegally present in Ukraine and end its aggression against its neighbour.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to earmark funds to support Ukraine in the period after the cessation of hostilities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting Ukraine to build a secure and prosperous future is an essential part of our effort to help Ukraine defeat Russian aggression. The Ukraine Recovery Conference (21-22 June 2023) raised over $60 billion in new support, including $3 billion in UK guarantees to World Bank lending and £240 million of UK bilateral assistance for 2023-24. The UK has earmarked up to $1 billion a year in fiscal support through World Bank guarantees between 2023 and 2027. Bilateral allocations for the 2024-25 financial year are still being finalised and funding beyond 2025 will be confirmed after the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that international aid from Sweden will soon depend on whether the recipient country accepts the repatriation of its citizens, such as asylum seekers and migrants deemed a security risk, what assessment they have made of the case for adopting a similar policy for the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is provided with the primary purpose of contributing to reduction in poverty. Allocation decisions are informed by a range of modelling and information sources, including absolute poverty, humanitarian need, geopolitical prioritisation and the ability of a country to self-finance its own development. The recently published White Paper on International Development makes clear that the UK will prioritise its ODA where it is most needed and most effective.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of Norway taking over the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council on 11 May 2023, what plans they have to build a stronger relationship with the Council during the two years of Norwegian Chairmanship.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK has been a State Observer to the Arctic Council since its first meeting and we participate actively in the Council's work. The UK welcomed Norway taking on the Chairship of the Arctic Council on 11 May 2023. We look forward to engaging with the new Norwegian Chair over the coming two years, including to look for further opportunities to enhance the UK's contribution to the work of the Council in areas of mutual interest and global importance, such as climate change and marine pollution.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 March (HL6104), when the next meeting of the UK–EU Joint Committee will take place; when and where the details and costs of the new arrangements will be set out; and whether a fuller answer to HL6104 in the first instance would have avoided the additional cost of answering this supplementary question.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Joint Committee met on Friday 24 March. We will set out details of the next Joint Committee meeting to Parliament in the usual way. Following the 24 March meeting at which the Windsor Framework was adopted, the Government will continue work to give it effect in domestic law as required. We will set out further details of those arrangements and their costs in due course as that work continues.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of implementing the Windsor Framework; and what proportion of that cost will be paid by (1) the UK, and (2) the EU.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have set out the instruments that make up this package overall. These will be approved at the next meeting of the UK-EU Joint Committee. After that, the UK and EU will respectively take forward legislative measures to translate the solutions into law in both legal orders, providing the basis for these new arrangements to enter into force. As that happens, we will set out the details of those new arrangements and their costs in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 June (HL854), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what assessment they have made of the report by Lord Skidelsky Economic Sanctions: A Weapon out of Control, published in April; and in particular, what assessment they have made of the conclusion that "They [sanctions] should come into play only after diplomacy has been exhausted, never as an alternative to it. This has not been the case in the present conflict".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK uses sanctions as part of a broader political strategy, a comprehensive approach encompassing the full range of diplomatic actions. Russia's assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state that threatens global security. There can be no negotiated settlement which replicates the Minsk Agreement, which came at the expense of Ukraine's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. Prior to Russia's further invasion, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and the Secretary of State for Defence visited Moscow and the Prime Minister spoke to Putin. However, Putin launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and has made clear he will not stop at Ukraine in his ambitions, but go further by targeting other sovereign nations. In the face of rising aggression we must be assertive in use of our economic levers such as sanctions, and the UK will continue ratcheting up economic pressure in order to cripple Putin's war machine.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Lord Skidelsky Economic Sanctions: A Weapon out of Control, published in April.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government uses our sanctions regimes as part of an integrated approach to promote our values and interests, and to combat state threats, terrorism, cyber-attacks, and the use and proliferation of chemical weapons. The UK considers the impact and effectiveness of sanctions, and works with our international partners to ensure sanctions regimes support our objectives and minimise unintended impacts.
In lockstep with our allies, we have announced the strongest set of economic sanctions ever imposed against a major economy in response to Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, cutting off funding for Putin's war machine. The UK's sanctions have been strategically coordinated with international allies to impose a severe cost. Sanctions imposed by the UK and its international partners are having deep and damaging consequences for Putin's ability to wage war, with around £275 billion - up to 60% of Russian foreign currency reserves - currently frozen.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they are making to the government of Turkey regarding (1) the United Nations' Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, and (2) the dismissal of Sait Erdal Dincer as head of the Turkish Statistical Institute.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
As an active UN member state, we encourage all countries in the UN to abide by these important guiding principles. We have not raised the dismissal of Mr Dincer with the Turkish authorities, as this is an internal matter for Turkey.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the apparent change in policy towards the Nord Stream 2 pipeline announced by the US Secretary of State and the Russian Foreign Minister on 20 May; and further to that announcement, whether they plan to reassess UK policy on the pipeline.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned about the impact Nord Stream 2 will have on European energy security and particularly on the interests of Ukraine. Our focus continues to be supporting resilient European energy markets, including measures that diversify energy supply.