Afghanistan
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

John Spellar (Warley, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Russia on the involvement of regional powers in the future of Afghanistan before and after the departure of ISAF forces.

Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative)

Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials regularly discuss Afghanistan with their Russian counterparts, and the UK participates in regional co-operation talks alongside Russia. I attended the Istanbul Conference on Afghanistan in November 2011, where regional countries including Russia agreed to work together in a range of fields up to and beyond 2014. We continue to play a part as a supporter of the Istanbul Process.

In addition, senior FCO officials attended the Fifth Regional Economic Co-operation Conference on Afghanistan in Dushanbe, on 26-27 March.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed Afghanistan with Foreign Minister Lavrov during their meeting in September 2011, and the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend Mr Lidington, discussed Afghanistan with Deputy Foreign Minister Titov on 26 January 2012 during his visit to the UK.