European Council Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

European Council

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Excerpts
Monday 5th March 2012

(12 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. A good many Members are still seeking to catch my eye. I remind the House that today is also an Opposition day, and I have to factor that into my thinking as well. What is required is brevity—to be exemplified, I feel sure, by Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Portrait Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
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The failure of the Assad regime to allow humanitarian assistance into Syria is utterly despicable. What does my right hon. Friend think are the chances of the Russians and Chinese abstaining on the relevant United Nations resolution?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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I think that we must work not just to get them to abstain, but to try to get them to support a resolution that is about humanitarian access and is clear about the unacceptability of what is happening. I know that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had a long telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov, and I hope to speak to President Putin later today. Although we are not going to agree with Russia on all that needs to happen in Syria, I hope that we can agree about the bottom-line things that absolutely do need to happen.