HC Deb 29 November 1993 vol 233 c784
40. Mr. Robathan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance Her Majesty's Government intend to give to the refugees in Azerbaijan.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

We are providing £1.6 million of relief in Azerbaijan this winter.

Mr. Robathan

My hon. Friend knows that about 650,000 refugees are in Azerbaijan and that many more are in Armenia, Georgia and the surrounding region. As winter sets in, will my hon. Friend carefully consider providing more aid there, where the situation is every bit as bad as in Bosnia—albeit much less covered by the media?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

My hon. Friend is right to say that the region does not receive so much media coverage as Bosnia. However, he must concede that the assistance that we are giving this winter is substantial. British non-governmental organisations are beginning to establish operations in Azerbaijan, and we will certainly consider sympathetically any requests for humanitarian assistance that they may put forward.