Douglas Alexander: I certainly echo the sentiment of the Foreign Secretary’s final remarks. At this difficult and dangerous moment, it is vital that Europe and NATO stand united in ensuring that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. However, may I bring him back to his remarks about tier 3 sanctions? Does he believe that new EU restrictive measures should be on the table at the next European Council...
Douglas Alexander: I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s answer, but let me return to the appalling murder of Boris Nemtsov on Saturday in Moscow, to which he has referred. Clearly, the priority needs to be a thorough and impartial investigation into the murder. President Putin has a personal responsibility to show that the Russian authorities are willing and able to identify Mr Nemtsov’s killers and to bring...
Douglas Alexander: Last year, 2014, was dominated by news of horrendous violence against those of different faiths, from Boko Haram abducting Christian girls in Nigeria to the attacks by ISIL against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities within Iraq. In the light of those developments, does the Foreign Secretary agree that a global envoy for religious freedom, reporting to the Foreign Secretary...
Douglas Alexander: I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement, and for advance sight of it. Although the conflict in Ukraine is clearly a geopolitical crisis, it is also a conflict of profound civilian suffering. As the Foreign Secretary has just reminded us, in a neighbouring European state more than 5,000 lives have already been lost, 5 million civilians are living in conflict-affected areas, and nearly...
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2015, Official Report, column 79, whether he met the Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister; and with whom he has discussed the case of Raif Badawi.
Douglas Alexander: The Minister is absolutely right to pay tribute to the neighbouring countries of the Syrian conflict, Jordan and the Lebanon, for the extraordinary work that they have done in receiving a huge population of refugees as a consequence of the conflict. On the point about the UN food vouchers, given the reports last week of the value of those food vouchers having been cut as well as the...
Douglas Alexander: In these exchanges, we have already heard of the importance of the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Jordan. Beyond the very welcome humanitarian support that is being provided to refugees in Jordan and the Lebanon, what specific additional support is being provided to Jordan to maintain stability within that country given that a significant number of refugees are not in...
Douglas Alexander: I have written to the Foreign Secretary raising the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for the content of his blog. I am still awaiting a reply. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary mentioned the importance of effective channels of communication to the Saudis. Does that include him? Would he tell the House whether he has raised this...
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met Dr Husn Banu Ghazanfar, the Afghan Minister for Women's Affairs.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what changes his Department is planning to the number of its staff based in Afghanistan.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next expects the Friends of Syria Group to meet.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests the UK has received for additional support from the Kurdistan regional government.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the interception of Russian aircraft by NATO forces over the Baltic.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security situation around Mount Sinjar.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iraqi counterpart on the refugees on Mount Sinjar.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Hadi al-Bahra on the humanitarian situation in Kobane.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps at an EU-level to increase the size of the sanctions regime against Russia in response to the security situation in Ukraine.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of EU-wide sanctions on Russia's policy towards Ukraine.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Minsk Protocol by all parties to the agreement.
Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to the Syrian opposition to assist delivery of essential services.