the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, Tuesday brought devastating news of the resumption of armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Government urge Azerbaijan to cease military action and return to peaceful dialogue. Violence is never the answer. Yesterday details emerged of a ceasefire. We call on parties to respect this and encourage Baku to continue talks with the local population on a settlement that protects the...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, I could not agree more with the right reverend Prelate. As he is aware, the situation is unclear at present. That is why we are pushing so hard for talks and a lasting peace. He also mentioned the relationship to faith. I will of course make that clear to my noble friend Lord Ahmad, who is at the United Nations.
the Earl of Courtown: The noble Lord mentions reconciliation and is quite right on that issue. There have to be talks between the parties, a lasting peace, a cease of violence, and humanitarian access. The points he makes are well made.
the Earl of Courtown: The noble Lord makes some good points. As he is aware, Russian peacekeepers are there, but Azerbaijan’s ability to conduct a military operation in full sight of them shows how committed Moscow is to peace and security in this area. This is an ongoing situation and the position is unclear, but we are making every effort to make representations. As I said earlier, my noble friend Lord Ahmad...
the Earl of Courtown: It is always good to hear the experiences of the noble Baroness. The points she makes are well founded and there are many concerns. It is particularly right and proper that my noble friend Lord Ahmad is at the UN this week; as noble Lords know, he is the Human Rights Minister. The noble Baroness also mentioned the Lachin corridor which, as she correctly said, was used for fuel and goods to be...
the Earl of Courtown: The noble Lord makes some very good points. As he pointed out, the French, the EU and US have been hugely busy over the last few days on this. The US and EU have been large actors over the last year in facilitating meetings between the different parties. This is a difficult issue but, as I said earlier, at the OSCE yesterday and at the Security Council later today my noble friend will be...
the Earl of Courtown: My noble friend Lord McInnes is quite right. The important things here, as I said earlier, are to end hostilities, commit to talks with the Armenian people in Nagorno-Karabakh, stop acts of violence and ensure that humanitarian access is brought to this area.
the Earl of Courtown: As the noble Lord said, if we can get reconciliation between the parties, we will go a long way towards resolving some of this crisis. He commented on the process and, as I said, our position at the moment is that the US, the EU and France are taking the lead for a number of reasons, as he will be aware. But we will of course be there to offer any aid we can, and it will be interesting to...
the Earl of Courtown: There is not a great deal more that I can add to what my noble friend said. I agree.
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the ceasefire. I had a call on this half an hour ago from the department and, as I understand the situation, we feel that the ceasefire is holding at the moment, and we hope it continues to do so. He mentioned other factors, which are all really important in the whole scale of things. I will of course bear them in mind and make sure that the department is...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, I thank the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, for this short debate, which has been fascinating. He has quite rightly gone into some detail on this issue, and I hope I will be able to explain part of the thinking behind our inclusion of Clause 14 in the Bill. However, as the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, suggested, once I have read Hansard I will ensure that, if we do not feel we have not gone...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to this relatively short and interesting debate on a wide-ranging subject. It is good that the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, has given us the opportunity to look into these matters a little further. I will go through the amendments, but not necessarily in chronological order, so noble Lords will have to bear with me. I understand that the...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, we are actively monitoring the fires in Rhodes and elsewhere in Greece and are in close contact with the Greek authorities. The British vice-consulate in Rhodes is visiting local evacuation centres. The FCDO has deployed a rapid deployment team of six FCDO staff and four British Red Cross responders to Rhodes to support British nationals, whose safety is our top priority. The team...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, we should pay tribute to the people of Greece who have opened their homes to many holidaymakers in their area. The FCDO travel advice should not impact people’s ability to claim insurance for things such as cancelled hotel bookings or flight changes, depending on their policy and level of cover. However, we recognise that some travel companies use FCDO advice as a reference point...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, I quite understand the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Basildon. The situation in Rhodes is stabilising at the moment. The vast majority of the island is not affected by these fires and, as I said, our travel advice is kept under constant review. I understand the situation for people taking valued holidays in difficult times; they really want some certainty. I will...
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, as I said, the situation is stabilising—I had a call with the department earlier this morning—and the majority of the island is not affected by these fires. As I have reiterated time and again, the travel advice is kept under constant review.
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, my noble friend Lord Forsyth makes a very important point. The first port of call for individuals in Rhodes at the moment is of course the travel operators, which have the responsibility to get them back. More empty planes were sent yesterday—I gather that more are being sent today—and there is a process of repatriating people from Rhodes.
the Earl of Courtown: I thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton; he makes a very important point about the assistance to individuals and families on holidays in these areas. There is always consular assistance. We advise travellers in the areas where there are fires to ask for consular assistance, and so far that has been given to a number of individuals.
the Earl of Courtown: My Lords, at present, as I understand the situation, all British nationals are in good health. The noble Baroness makes a very good point about the facilities available to our nationals in Greece at the moment. As I said earlier, there is a small Red Cross team at the airport. If there is anything more that I can add to my answer, I will write to the noble Baroness.
the Earl of Courtown: I do not have the number of consular staff in Rhodes to hand but, as I said, we have sent out a team to Rhodes Airport, including Red Cross personnel. The FCDO has deployed a rapid deployment team of six FCDO staff—who are based, as I understand it, at the airport—and there are four British Red Cross responders there to support British nationals.
