Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in Tigray; and what steps her Department is taking to assist the people of Tigray.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, from north to south, is grave and is worsening. More than 400,000 people are experiencing catastrophic famine-like conditions in Tigray and this year nearly 30 million people throughout the country will require life-saving aid. In northern regions conflict has affected more than 9 million people - including 5.2 million people in Tigray, where humanitarian access is negligible. As I [Minister Ford] expressed in my statement of 1 April, the arrival of a humanitarian convoy in Tigrayan-controlled areas on that day was a welcome development, but we now need to see sustained humanitarian access.
Since the start of the conflict in November 2020 the UK has allocated more than £75 million in humanitarian assistance for Northern Ethiopia. This includes £15.6 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its food and nutrition operations in northern Ethiopia. This helped WFP reach more than 885,000 people with food assistance and approximately 219,000 people with nutrition support. We welcome the cessation of hostilities announced by the Ethiopian Government and agreed by Tigrayan authorities on 25 March. All parties to the conflict must now facilitate urgent humanitarian relief, especially to communities in Tigray who have not had food aid for months.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Bolton North East as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afghanistan to discuss issues relating to that country and the Afghan diaspora in the UK.
Answered by James Cleverly
The Minister of State for South Asia would be pleased to meet with the Hon. Member for Bolton North East as part of his ongoing engagement on matters relating to Afghanistan.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and security situation around the Siverskyi Donets River in the Luhansk region of Ukraine following allegations of repeated shelling attacks by Russian forces; and what steps his Department is taking to ease tensions in that region.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While the UK has received no specific reporting on this alleged incident, we remain very concerned by the overall upward trajectory in the number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine. We call on the sides to uphold the ceasefire.
The UK remains one of the largest contributors to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which monitors and reports on the security situation in Ukraine. We fully support the Minsk agreements to deliver a peaceful resolution to the conflict in full respect of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four in this regard. As outlined in the G7 Foreign Ministers' statement on 18 March, we call on Russia to play its part to end the conflict by immediately ceasing its support for the armed formations it backs and fulfilling its obligations under the Minsk agreements.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and security situation of (a) Ukraine and (b) Russia; and what steps his Department is taking to work with (i) NATO and (ii) western Governments to maintain oversight of the situation in those countries.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is one of Ukraine's few international partners offering a full range of military, security, economic, political and governance support. We operate at the heart of the international community's engagement in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which includes shaping international sanctions against Russia; deepening NATO's partnership with Ukraine; and leading efforts in the UN and OSCE to hold Russia to account for its destabilising behaviour.
The Integrated Review makes clear that Russia's actions pose an acute and direct threat to the national security of UK and its allies. The Russian State's record of unprovoked, reckless and destabilising activity is a stain on Russia's reputation, damages its international standing and undermines the Russian Government's claims to be a responsible global actor. The UK takes the threat from the Russian State extremely seriously and will respond and call out Russian aggression wherever it occurs.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have held recent discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts, on 14 June and 2 April respectively. We maintain functional channels of engagement with the Russian Government. The FS spoke with Russian FM Lavrov on 17 June. As fellow Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and other multilateral organisations, we will continue to engage with the Russian Government on matters of international peace, security and to address global challenges facing the world today, including climate change, biodiversity loss and the Coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister attended the NATO Summit on 14 June where NATO leaders discussed Russia and issued a communiqué, affirming NATO support for Ukraine and its commitment to continue to respond to the deteriorating security environment by enhancing NATO's deterrence and defence posture, including by a forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. The Prime Minister also hosted the G7 Leaders' Summit on 11-13 June, where leaders called on Russia to stop its destabilising behaviour and malign activities, which followed G7 Foreign Minister statements regarding Ukraine on 18 March and 12 April.