Results 1-20 of 4,420 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:David Miliband

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: Iran's nuclear programme is the leading threat to the non-proliferation regime. The latest International Atomic Energy Agency report says that Iran has still not suspended its enrichment or heavy-water-related activities and has failed to engage with the IAEA on the possible military dimensions. The revelations about a secret site near Qom show Iran's disregard for its obligations to the IAEA...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: My right hon. Friend makes an important point about the Iranian people, some 50 or 60 per cent. of whom are under the age of 30. They represent a country of great civilisation and education, and they have internet access, to pick up on her point. The requirements on the regime can best be understood by realising that there will never be a better time for Iran to engage with the international...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: I do not have to tell the hon. Gentleman just about the pressure on other European countries; I can point him to the fact that the European Union—all 27 countries of it—has tougher sanctions than are required by the United Nations, which indicates how seriously Europe takes the issue.

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: At this moment, we are engaged in a critical phase of engagement with Iran. The President of the United States has said that he wants to reassess the situation at the end of the year, and he will do so with the international community. My hon. Friend is right to say that the dual track must be a dual track, in that engagement takes place, but increased pressure can be brought to bear, as...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: The right hon. and learned Gentleman makes an important point. It is fair to say that that the thinking that he outlines explains the emphasis that we have put on the relationship between the E3 plus 3 and the Gulf Co-operation Council and other Arab states. A very important meeting took place in New York between the E3 plus 3 and the Arab states, led by the GCC. The sort of international...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: My hon. Friend will know that we have voted consistently for the aspiration of a nuclear-free middle east as part of a drive for nuclear disarmament around the world. However, I think that it is important to bear in mind that although it is right to acknowledge that Iran is a signatory to the NPT—and that is welcome—signing is only the first step. Obeying the treaty's injunctions...

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Iran's Nuclear Programme (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: There is quite a lot of detail in this. The Tehran research reactor proposal is an important proposal, which would involve the export for development of the low-enriched uranium that Iran has established. It is a very important proposal. The best thing for me to say is that it is good that Iran has said that in principle it is interested in that proposal, but it needs to turn that...

Nato: Palestine (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: I spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, last Friday. As I understand it, despite Fatah agreeing to Egypt's proposals, Hamas has not. The Foreign Minister told me that the original deadline and further repeated deadlines for reaching agreement among the Palestinian factions will not be met. I told the Foreign Minister that we continued to favour any reconciliation which...

Nato: Palestine (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: My hon. Friend takes a detailed interest in these issues and I know that his commitment to a two-state solution is profound. He is right that negotiations need to take place on the basis of the renunciation of violence. There is no path to a Palestinian state through violence, and it is precisely the sort of accord and determination to renounce violence that is recognised by the majority of...

Nato: Palestine (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: The Government do not stay away from the question at all. As the hon. Gentleman should know, the Prime Minister was working closely with President Sarkozy of France, which I do not think even the Conservative party would describe as a dictatorship, on three key issues: first, an independent inquiry into the allegations at the heart of the Goldstone report; secondly, greater humanitarian aid...

Nato: Palestine (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: It is absolutely right that we stick to the position that we have held since the publication of the Goldstone report—that, on the one hand, it did not do enough to recognise Israel's right to self-defence but, on the other, it did raise serious issues that democratic Governments should address through the sort of full and independent inquiry that is important. Democratic Governments are...

Nato: Palestine (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: For the record, I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman has not understood what actually happened at the launch of the Goldstone report. The resolution setting up the report was, indeed, deeply unbalanced, and it did not refer to Hamas. That is why we welcomed the fact that Judge Goldstone immediately said that his inquiry would be into Hamas's alleged violations of international law, as well as...

Nato: Afghanistan (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: I regularly discuss developments affecting UK national security with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, including the outcome of his recent and important visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have pushed consistently with European Union partners for greater and more coherent EU action in both countries, including the adoption of a new strategy to strengthen...

Nato: Afghanistan (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: My hon. Friend raises a very important point that I will touch on in the introduction to topical questions. There are important developments in Afghanistan today that will affect all of us. The commitment to a second round on behalf of both candidates is important, but equally important are the statesmanlike statements made today, which hold out important prospects for the future credibility...

Nato: Afghanistan (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: The whole House should recognise that the work of the Electoral Complaints Commission has been of the highest order, the highest integrity, and, as we can now see, the highest level of forcefulness. There has been no willingness on its part to be pushed off the central principles to which it has adhered. There has clearly been attempted fraud on a large scale. The vital thing is that all the...

Nato: Afghanistan (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: Yes, but to pick up my hon. Friend's point and that of the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron), ultimately there must be a political settlement in Afghanistan: a political settlement for the people of that country; a political offer to the insurgency to live within the constitution and to come in and share political power or face the military consequences; and a political settlement with...

Nato: Afghanistan (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: It is important to say that real efforts will be made to live up to the standards that the right hon. Gentleman has tried to sketch out. Frankly, it would be glib and slightly other-worldly for me to stand here and give a blanket yes to his questions, which, although serious, go the heart of very deep security problems that face Afghanistan. However, it is the case that in the first...

Nato: Afghanistan (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: The right hon. Gentleman will know that one of the commitments that President Obama has made is that not just that the first McChrystal report but that the second should be discussed deeply to ensure that there is full alliance engagement with the request in question. We will engage fully with the process, in respect of not just the American uplift and the discussions about it but the...

Nato: Sri Lanka (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: I met Foreign Minister Bogollagama on 25 September and urged him to ensure that the Government of Sri Lanka return all 250,000 internally displaced persons to their homes as quickly as possible. The imminent monsoon makes that more urgent, alongside the need for improved facilities for, and access to, camps. I pressed for progress on the protection of minority communities and on...

Nato: Sri Lanka (20 Oct 2009)

David Miliband: We will continue to use all avenues to make clear the importance of human rights in Sri Lanka and every other part of the Commonwealth.