§ 1. Mr. JOWETTasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can inform Parliament if the recent statement of M. Sazonof in the Duma to the effect that Russia intended permanently to occupy Constantinople was made with the approval and knowledge of His Majesty's Government?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir E. Grey)I have not seen, and cannot find in any report of M. Sazonof's speech that I have seen, the statement attributed to him by the hon. Member. The statement which I have seen is that the events on the Russo-Turkish frontier will bring Russia nearer to the realisation of the political and economic problems bound up with the question of Russia's access to the open sea. That is an aspiration with which we are in entire sympathy. The precise form in which it will be realised will no doubt be settled in the terms of peace.