Martin Docherty-Hughes
Main Page: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)Department Debates - View all Martin Docherty-Hughes's debates with the Ministry of Defence
Ukraine and Georgia
Martin Docherty-Hughes Excerpts(6 months, 1 week ago)
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Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)
Those of us on the SNP Benches join the cross-party support, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing the urgent question.
To follow the question from the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee on what more we can do for Ukraine, does the Minister agree that now is the time for the UK to join other NATO allies in supporting the Czechia munitions programme, on top of what has already been provided?
On Georgia, the Government state that their aim is
“to advance Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration through…security cooperation and support for democratic reforms.”
Given the Dream party’s lurch away from democratic reform, how stable is that integration and security co-operation? Does the Minister agree that it is time for the people of Georgia to have their say on the Dream party’s agenda?
Leo Docherty
We have not joined the Czech programme because it would replicate work that we are already doing, but we commend its activities and see it as part of a broader solution to mobilise effort to increase the flow of munitions, so it is welcome.
Clearly, the political future of Georgia is a question for Georgians themselves, but we note that there is a lively debate, which has of course spilled out on to the streets of Tbilisi, about the direction of travel. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that the direction of travel—whether Euro-Atlantic or anything else—should be a function of the democratic expression of the people of Georgia.