Syria

Julian Brazier Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

As I mentioned to the House, we were able to announce in the past 24 hours that this agreement will come into force next week, on 20 January. That means that the sanctions relief we have offered Iran starts from then. That will involve the amendment of some European Union sanctions and United States sanctions, and it means that the US will unfreeze a certain amount of Iranian assets—that will be spread over the six-month period of this agreement. It is anticipated that this amounts to about $7 billion of sanctions relief for Iran, provided the Iranians are sticking to their part of the agreement on the nuclear issue. That agreement is then renewable for further periods of six months while we work on a comprehensive solution. So a limited measure of sanctions relief is available to Iran from 20 January.

[Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend, with his command of history, will know that Britain, America and Russia have all had embassies sacked by mobs in Tehran, although in the Russian case that happened rather longer ago. Following the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate (Mr Blunt), does my right hon. Friend agree that the key to a change in attitude by the slightly more moderate regime in Iran, and indeed in Damascus, lies in persuading the Russians that they share the same interest in this as we do in the long run?

[Mr Hague]

That is a very important factor. I have often discussed it with Foreign Minister Lavrov and the Prime Minister has discussed it with President Putin, and the American leaders continue to do the same. After all, it is in the interests of Russia, as with all of us, to make sure that extremism does not take hold, in Syria and in the wider region. That means that we all have to work together on bringing about a political solution. So we hope that, just as we have done that on chemical weapons, we will be able to do it during and around the Geneva II process to make a political process viable. We will spare no effort to work with Russia in bringing that about.