Ukraine: 1,000 Days
Debate between Richard Foord and David Lammy(2 days, 17 hours ago)
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Mr Lammy
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. As I outlined, this morning I spoke to a meeting of the Weimar group of nations across Europe. It is not a forum in which the UK traditionally participates, but I was very grateful to the Polish Foreign Minister, Radek Sikorski, for reaching out at this time and ensuring that the UK, Italy and Spain were part of that group, along with France and Germany. That is an indication of how united we are attempting to be at this time.
My hon. Friend rightly raises the big issues around energy over the next period. She calls to mind the pernicious attacks by Russia over the past 48 hours, which have been driven at those energy supplies and are basically trying to turn the lights out in Ukraine. We must do all that we can in a co-ordinated effort to repel that activity and to help Ukraine repel that activity over the coming months.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
My question for the Foreign Secretary is about security guarantees. As we mark 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion, we should remember that Ukraine’s allies failed to deter Russia in advance of the invasion. I do understand why a country at war cannot be admitted to NATO, but we must never again offer some meaningless paper pledge like the Budapest memorandum. What is the Government’s latest thinking about a meaningful security guarantee by Ukraine’s allies, from the point when the fighting stops?
Mr Lammy
The hon. Gentleman asks a good question, but it is easy to look back in hindsight. Personally, I was critical that the UK did not play a part in the Minsk agreement. We were absent and we could have played a far greater role. Our belief is that Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. Allies agreed in Washington that there is to be an irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership, and that is the right thing to do. In the meantime, the UK and our allies are stepping up support for Ukraine’s immediate and long-term self-defence. The hon. Member is right: we must ensure that when this war ends—and it will end one day—it cannot start again, and that will mean very serious security guarantees for Ukraine.
China: Human Rights and Sanctions
Debate between Richard Foord and David Lammy(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Mr Lammy
The hon. Member again raises this serious issue in the House. It is entirely unacceptable and we will continue to engage on it.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
The Foreign Secretary mentioned how he raised with the Government in Beijing the Russian human rights abuses in Ukraine carried out during Russia’s aggression. A Chinese delegation was absent from the peace conference in Switzerland, yet President Xi was present in Russia at the BRICS summit last week. When the Foreign Secretary raised with Chinese counterparts these Russian human rights abuses, what was the response?
Mr Lammy
The hon. Member will not be surprised to hear that the Chinese denied it, but we were able to supply some evidence to back up our claims for them to reflect on, and we will re-engage to see what conclusions they come to.
Lebanon
Debate between Richard Foord and David Lammy(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement and his advice to British nationals, which seems like a very wise precaution and could prevent our having to evacuate British citizens in the future. I join him in condemning the Hezbollah strike in the Golan Heights, which killed 12 Druze children. Our thoughts go out to their families.
However, now we find the region on the precipice that many of us have feared since 7 October last year: the escalation of this dire conflict to another front, with Israel’s Minister Smotrich warning of an all-out war with Hezbollah. The UN special co-ordinator for the middle east peace process has urged “maximum restraint” and the immediate cessation of rocket fire across the blue line. We welcome that call and urge the UK Government to work closely with regional powers to do whatever we can to de-escalate the situation. My question to the Foreign Secretary is this: has he, and have his colleagues, engaged with the UN special co-ordinator? If not, will they do so, given the special co-ordinator’s vital role in moments such as this?
The Liberal Democrats welcome the Foreign Secretary’s call for an immediate bilateral ceasefire to end the humanitarian devastation in Gaza, to get the hostages home and to open the door to a two-state solution. This is a deeply insecure region and that insecurity is felt by everybody who lives there: Israelis, Palestinians and others. A two-state solution will deliver the dignity and security they need, and I am reassured to hear that he will be making those calls on regional powers when he next visits the region.
Mr Lammy
I am very grateful to the Lib Dem spokesman for the tone and manner of his remarks. I can reassure him that I have been in touch with the UN special envoy, Amos Hochstein. I have spoken to him several times and I intend to speak to him again over the coming days. As I have indicated, it is my hope to get to the region if the security situation allows.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that an immediate ceasefire is what we need. We need those hostages out and we need the aid in. If we get that immediate ceasefire, if the Biden plan is adopted, it will allow de-escalation across the region. That is why we need to see that plan adopted by both sides as soon as possible.