Iraq and Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Monday 16th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

The prize for patience goes to Mr John Woodcock.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Whatever the responsibility the UK holds for the current situation in Iraq, there is a clear need to prevent the country from falling into the hands of these extremists. Given the Foreign Secretary’s statement that military intervention may well prove necessary, why has he ruled out any UK participation or military support whatsoever?

[Mr Hague]

For the reasons I set out in my statement, the prime need is for the leadership in Iraq—in both a security and a political sense—to be able to respond. There is a case for outside support where necessary, but as I said, the assets and capabilities to deliver such military support are much more likely to be possessed by the United States of America. I have set out other areas in which we can help. That is the reasoning for this approach.

Ukraine

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Tuesday 13th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

“Unimpressed” is a good bit of British understatement from the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. My right hon. Friend is right: it is important to keep channels of communication open. That is what I do with Foreign Minister Lavrov, and that is why the Prime Minister has spoken to President Putin several times during this crisis. Even as we speak, our representatives are sitting with Russia in the E3 plus 3 negotiations with Iran, and working constructively together on one of the world’s other great issues. We will make every effort to continue to do that, because it is in the global interest and in our national interest.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Foreign Secretary make it clear that we do not simply suspect that Russia is behind much of the armed insurrection in the east of Ukraine, but hold the country squarely responsible? If such tactics were attempted in a NATO member country, they would trigger a full article 5 response.

[Mr Hague]

There is no doubt about that. I hope that I made it clear in my statement, but I am happy to restate our certainty about Russian involvement in the violence and disorder that have taken place in eastern Ukraine. What has happened does not have the characteristics of spontaneous protest. The level of equipment, training and co-ordination involved demonstrates that there is outside intervention. Ukraine is not, of course, a member of NATO, but I am sure that were such things to happen in a NATO member country, it would be able to invoke article 5 of the NATO treaty.

Ukraine

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Monday 28th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Defence remains a very important priority for the United Kingdom, as my hon. Friend knows very well. These events mean that at the NATO summit in September, which we will be very proud to host in Wales, there will be increased consciousness of the need for NATO in Europe and of the need for confidence in the collective defence of NATO nations. I have already made the case at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting that that will mean, over the coming years, some NATO nations that spend much less than 2% of GDP on defence having to think again and to increase their defence expenditure.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

When we were in Kiev over the Easter recess, an official made the point to me that Ukraine did not think, when it gave up its nuclear weapons, that it was doing so in return for a few targeted sanctions on individuals. If we are to make any meaningful progress on nuclear non-proliferation in future, do we not need to show the world that we will do whatever it takes to protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, including discussing now the prospect of a long-term energy boycott on Russia?

[Mr Hague]

We do have to show that there are very serious consequences, which I have set out. Let us remember that a complete energy boycott of Russia would be very difficult to implement—at this moment, at any rate—for many EU nations, such as Bulgaria, that are heavily dependent on Russian supplies of gas. It would therefore be rash for the whole European Union to advocate an energy boycott of Russia, but it is right to talk about reducing—long-term—the reliance on Russian energy and to change the balance of leverage, as I have put it previously in this House, between Russia and the European Union. We are engaged in that, and Russia should really pay heed to it.

Ukraine

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Tuesday 4th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

My hon. Friend is right that, as I have said in answer to earlier questions, there are parallels with Transnistria, and, indeed, with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are part of Georgia. Russia has certainly been able to live with any consequences of those actions in the past. This is a repetition of that, but on an even greater scale, so there must be costs and consequences in response, to deter the repetition of such events in future.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

But what are the other costs and consequences that the Secretary of State is actively considering? He has mentioned visa restrictions, but surely just restricting a few people from entering is not sufficient to meet the bar of significant costs, given how much Russia clearly feels it has to gain from its current actions in Ukraine? Will he say what else is actively on the table?

[Mr Hague]

No—to be consistent with all the answers I have given before. The European Union has referred to targeted measures and I have referred to well judged, well targeted legal measures. I have not excluded anything. Many hon. Members have made interesting proposals during the course of this statement, but I stressed before that when we take such measures it is important for there to be unity on them, as well as for them to be well judged and well targeted. That means we must work on them together in the European Union, and that is what we are doing now.

Foreign Affairs and International Development

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Tuesday 15th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

On 9 May, Reuters news agency produced a report suggesting that British officials were attempting to delay by six months a ban on insurance for ships carrying Iranian oil, which would have a knock-on effect on delaying sanctions. Is that true? If so, why?

[Mr Hague]

The UK is one of the strongest advocates of the sanctions being applied by the EU, including the ban on EU imports of Iranian oil from 1 July. The House should be clear about that, but discussion is continuing within the EU about protection and indemnity insurance and when a ban on it would be applied—on 1 July or at a later date. We are discussing that separately because of concerns expressed by countries outside the EU about the impact on their trade. We are assessing that, working with France in particular, to try to understand how serious the impact would be. We are clearly applying sharply increased pressure on Iran, but we also have to bear in mind the wider consequences for oil prices and the world economy, and balance those concerns.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Tuesday 29th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Yes, all confidence-building measures will be welcome; indeed, the Quartet and its representative Tony Blair have often worked on them. We would welcome such measures alongside the Quartet process of which I have been speaking, but we still have not seen any such measures in recent times.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

Has the Foreign Secretary ruled out accepting that Hamas can be part of any peace process unless and until it signs up to the Quartet principles?

North Africa and the Near and Middle East

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Monday 28th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

If the House will forgive me, I will not give way to hon. Members to whom I have given way before, because I will soon have been speaking for three quarters of an hour and more, and I want to deal with one final and very important subject, the subject of my statement on 9 November, which remains a central concern in the middle east, namely the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I repeat today our call for negotiations on a two-state solution, without delay and without preconditions, based on the timetable set out in the Quartet statement of 23 September. In our view, the parameters for a Palestinian state are those affirmed by the European Union as a whole—borders based on 1967 lines, with equivalent land swaps; a just, fair and realistic solution for refugees; and agreement on Jerusalem as the future capital of both states. The Quartet met both parties separately on 14 November and will next meet on 16 December. We urge both parties to engage fully with the Quartet process and to fulfil their commitment to present proposals on borders and security by 26 January.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Foreign Secretary make it crystal clear that both sides—Israelis and Palestinians—are required to step up to the process? Will he say more about what pressure he is able to put on the Palestinian authorities to come to the table?

[Mr Hague]

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that this requires the involvement of both sides. As I have often argued—I said it in my statement on 9 November—we need to look to Israel to make a more decisive offer than any it has been prepared to make in the recent past. That is an indispensable ingredient of any successful negotiation that could take place. However, it is also important for Palestinians to be ready to engage in the negotiations and not to set preconditions which make such negotiations impossible in the first place. There is a responsibility on both sides. It is a slightly different responsibility in each case, but it amounts to being ready to negotiate a two-state solution, which is otherwise slipping away from us.

Africa and the Middle East

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Wednesday 29th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

That is a legitimate question, to which there is no fixed or dogmatic answer. The future of both countries in the light of the Arab spring will be important, and my hon. Friend is right to imply that Tunisia, a much smaller country than Egypt, might find many of the necessary reforms easier to accomplish—certainly, one gets that feeling on visiting Tunisia. So far, Tunisia’s progress towards elections for its constituent assembly and so on have been more pain-free. Nevertheless, in assessing priorities, given the scale of Egypt’s population and influence in the Arab world, and its absolutely vital strategic position in the middle east, we must devote a great deal of our attention and support to Egypt. There is no escape from doing that. Success in the Arab spring—open political institutions and an open economy in Tunisia, but failure in Egypt—would still be a massive failure overall, so we must devote a large proportion of our time and resources to Egypt.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

On the proposed flotilla, what active steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to persuade its organisers both here and abroad that it would be a provocative act that would do nothing to promote greater peace and stability in the region?

[Mr Hague]

I have just taken the active step of speaking about this here in the House of Commons. Although all Members of Parliament are well aware that speaking in the House of Commons can be a secret activity at times, I hope that this message, which we will be happy to amplify and repeat, will be understood by anyone who contemplates going into that situation. We advise against all travel to Gaza and embarkation on such flotillas is not the way to try to resolve these conflicts.

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Monday 16th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

We have not changed in any way our policy on Hamas. That is why I am making this statement about judging a future Palestinian Administration by their actions and readiness to act for peace.

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

Further to that point, will the Foreign Secretary make clear the central importance that the Government place on the Quartet principles and state that no organisation, particularly Hamas in this instance, may genuinely be part of the peace process while it remains committed to Israel’s destruction?

[Mr Hague]

Securing peace in the middle east must of course be done on the basis of the Quartet principles, which is why we will judge any Palestinian Administration by the conditions I have set out. As I have often said, we look to Hamas to make concrete movement towards the Quartet principles, which remain of central importance.

Middle East

Debate between Lord Hague of Richmond and Lord Walney

Monday 14th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Foreign Secretary is of course right to focus on the potential of the extraordinary change in Egypt to kick-start the middle east peace process, but given the recent comments of the Iranian Foreign Minister and the leader of Hezbollah, what more can Britain do to ensure that Egypt’s future is one of peace towards its neighbours?

[Mr Hague]

I think that we have to do all the things we have discussed over the past hour to support the building of civil society and democracy in Egypt and to fill the moderate, sensible political space so that it is neither fanatical or extremist on the one hand, nor brings more authoritarian government on the other. I think we can fairly conclude that the prime motivation of the people who demonstrated in Egypt was not foreign policy or hostility to other nations, but their seeking of the economic opportunities and political rights that we consider normal in our country. If that is the case, and I think it is, then that is the reason why we should have some faith in the development of openness and democracy in Egypt; and we should do everything we can to support that.