Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 8 June 2026.
Jessica Morden
Chair, Committee of Selection, Chair, Committee of Selection
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with a) Cabinet colleagues, and b) her Armenian counterpart about the UK’s support for the Armenian economy following Russia’s trade embargoes on Armenian agricultural products.
Jessica Morden
Chair, Committee of Selection, Chair, Committee of Selection
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of Russian attempts to influence the Armenian parliamentary election on 7 June through (a) economic coercion and (b) hybrid threats; and what diplomatic steps she has taken in response.
Stephen Doughty
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are closely monitoring the situation regarding Russian economic pressure on Armenia. Officials remain in close contact with senior members of the Armenian Government and international partners to assess how we can provide support most effectively. Together with our international partners, we remain committed to safeguarding Armenia's electoral integrity and democratic resilience, including against hybrid threats from Russia.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
