Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2024 to Question 7549 on Hamas: Audio Equipment, what steps his Department is taking to help support Israel to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is doing all it can to reach a long-term solution to this crisis by calling for the immediate release of all hostages, the removal of Hamas' capacity to launch attacks against Israel, Hamas no-longer being in charge of Gaza, the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza accompanied by an international support package, and a political horizon to a two-state solution.
The Prime Minister has spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu several times, most recently on 30 April. The Foreign Secretary spoke with Foreign Minister Katz on 13 May. He also visited Israel with German Foreign Minister Baerbock on 17 April, met G7 partners in Italy immediately afterwards, and has spoken with leaders and counterparts in the OPTs, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran in recent weeks.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what plans his Department has to encourage the full membership of (a) the Republic of Cyprus and (b) Northern Cyprus to the Convention on Cluster Munitions; and what plans his Department has to encourage the full membership of Northern Cyprus to the Ottawa Treaty.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As a committed State Party to both the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) and Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), the UK urges all states to accede to both at the earliest opportunity, in line with respective obligations and provisions. We welcome Cyprus' existing status within the APMBC and encourage its future ratification of the CCM, recognising the unique security situation on the island. In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state.
Asked by: Nicola Richards (Conservative - West Bromwich East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Turkish counterpart on the reported granting of (a) citizenship and (b) passports to senior Hamas figures (i) Ismail Haniyeh and (ii) Saleh al-Arouri by that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not recently engaged with the Turkish Government on the reported granting of citizenship and passports to senior Hamas figures. Turkey granted citizenship to Ismail Haniyey in 2020, and Saleh al-Arouri was killed in January this year.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many officials in his Department are stationed in Northern Cyprus as of 20 May 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The FCDO does not have personnel permanently based in the north of Cyprus.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the reported remarks by President Erdogan on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
President Erdogan made an election campaign speech on 21 March which covered several areas, including the conflict in Gaza and the strengthening economy. On Gaza, the UK will maintain a dialogue with Turkey as a NATO ally and key actor on several conflicts in the region. On the economy, the UK has now launched negotiations for an upgraded Free Trade Agreement that will benefit both our economies.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of Turkey’s military activity in Syria and Iraq.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As a close NATO ally, we regularly engage the Turkish government on regional stability, including in Syria and Iraq. The Minister for the Middle East discussed this issue with the Turkish National Security Advisor on 11 April. The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate security interests in the region but encourages restraint from activity that could lead to further destabilisation or civilian loss of life.
Security and stability in the region are necessary to prevent the worsening of the already serious humanitarian situation in northern Syria and enable the Global Coalition and its partners to continue the fight against Daesh.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment his Department has made of the treatment of Kurds in Turkey.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We support the rights of all minority groups in Turkey, including Kurds, and follow this issue closely. We consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to raise concerns with the Government of Turkey over the treatment of its Kurdish population.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We support the rights of all minority groups in Turkey, including Kurds, and we consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe. Most recently, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the FCDO discussed human rights and the rule of law with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Bozay at the UK-Turkey Strategic Dialogue on 10 January 2024. Our Embassy in Turkey regularly engage with political parties and diplomatic counterparts on this issue, and closely track related judicial cases such as the HDP closure and Kobani cases.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in Turkey on improving relations with the Kurdish population in that country.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We support the rights of all minority groups in Turkey, including Kurds, and we consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe. Most recently, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the FCDO discussed human rights and the rule of law with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Bozay at the UK-Turkey Strategic Dialogue on 10 January 2024. Our Embassy in Turkey regularly engage with political parties and diplomatic counterparts on this issue, and closely track related judicial cases such as the HDP closure and Kobani cases.
Asked by: Baroness Mobarik (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments made in 2004 by the then Prime Minister on the need to “end the isolation of northern Cyprus”; and what progress they have made towards lifting sanctions on trade and travel to that region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Several UN Security Council Resolutions also limit links between UK and the north of Cyprus. Within these constraints we support measures to reduce the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community and regularly engage the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce on this issue. We continue to support a just and lasting Cyprus Settlement as the best means of resolving the difficulties caused by the division of the island.