§ 6. Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey)What discussions he plans with Governments of NATO countries, Russia and the Balkan states about plans for peace in Kosovo and the rest of Yugoslavia. [83505]
§ 11. Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North)If he will make a statement on the current position regarding Kosovo. [83510]
§ 16. Mr. Chris Mullin (Sunderland, South)If he will make a statement on the situation in Kosovo. [83515]
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook)Yesterday, 1 attended a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union, at which I tabled Britain's proposals for a new contract between the European Union and the countries of the Balkan region. I also met bilaterally with Igor Ivanov, the Russian Foreign Minister, and Milo Djukanovic, the President of Montenegro, and spoke by phone with President Ahtisaari, who has recently been asked to serve as an envoy in partnership with Mr. Chernomyrdin. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is currently in the region visiting Bulgaria and Albania. I shall shortly report more fully to the House when I open the forthcoming debate.
§ Mr. HughesI am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for that answer. Since his report last week, what progress has he made on drafting a resolution to be put before the Security Council, but which would, if possible, be agreed by all parties in Europe? Has he been able to discuss the matter with the European Union special representative, the President of Finland, to engage his good offices in dealing with it? Specifically, will the Foreign Secretary assure the House that, as we are proposing a multinational peacekeeping force for Kosovo, the position of the Government and of NATO is that forces will not be deployed in a way that results in a de facto division of Kosovo by ethnic allegiance, and that Kosovo must remain as one entity, protected by an international peacekeeping force?
§ Mr. CookIn response to the question about the Security Council resolution, I am pleased to report to the House that we have made good progress in discussion among the western members of the G8, and we have virtual agreement on all the elements of a resolution. We are looking for the appropriate time at which to explore those elements with our Russian partners. There will be a meeting of political directors on Wednesday to discuss the way forward towards a settlement.
Nevertheless, we should not confuse an agreement with Russia with a settlement with Belgrade. We must take good care not to compromise on the key NATO objectives as we enter into dialogue with Belgrade. I assure the House that we have no intention of reaching an agreement that would result in a de facto partition of Kosovo.
§ Mr. WinnickI recognise what is already being done to try to protect civilians from the air raids. Does my right hon. Friend agree that even more should be done, even if it means the planes flying lower and extra danger to allied military personnel? On the wider issue, is it not the case that, once Belgrade shows a willingness to accept the basic conditions that have been put forward for a settlement—first and foremost an international military force in Kosovo, the return of all refugees and the protection of all civilians living in Kosovo—the bombing can stop and the talks can begin?
§ Mr. CookMy hon. Friend is right. We have been exploring the precise sequencing of a bombing pause and 864 we shall discuss that again with Russia. We are not going to continue bombing when our troops enter Kosovo to escort the refugees back. There is also plainly room for us to agree to a bombing pause while the Serb forces withdraw so that they can do so with confidence. However, there must be a clear agreement, with a serious intent from Belgrade to withdraw and admit the refugees, before we can do that.
I am glad that my hon. Friend raised the issue of low flying, because I have seen some complaints that there is a political restriction to prevent pilots from flying low. I assure the House that there is no such political constraint; it is entirely an operational matter for the military. Politicians would be extremely foolish to override the military on the height at which our pilots fly.
§ Mr. MullinWill my right hon. Friend assure the House that, when we eventually get access to Kosovo, every effort will be made to trace the survivors of the disastrous accident at Korisa the other day, and the survivors of the other accidental bombings of Kosovars, and offer them whatever help they need, including medical assistance, to try to rebuild their lives?
§ Mr. CookI assure my hon. Friend that we are eager to enter Kosovo to bring medical relief to all those who have been victims, including the many internally displaced refugees who we know have been shelled deliberately by Milosevic's forces. We would be most anxious to provide all possible help to the survivors of what happened at Korisa. We would also be anxious to give them a full opportunity to explain to the International War Crimes Tribunal how they came to be refugees, why the Serb forces took them back off the hillsides and into the village, and why the same Serb forces reportedly prevented them from returning to their homes and kept them in two compounds. When the International War Crimes Tribunal investigators go in, I hope that they will have full access to all the sites at which civilians have been killed, particularly those that are the sites not of a tragic accident of war, but of deliberate, brutal butchery by the Serb forces.
§ Mr. John Randall (Uxbridge)Does the Foreign Secretary recall the words that he used during the Gulf war, when he questioned the efficacy of bombing runs deep into Iraq and asked whether the destruction of every power station, water supply and road bridge hit Iraqi civilians harder than Iraqi troops? Does he share similar doubts over the bombing in Yugoslavia? If not, what has changed his mind?
§ Mr. CookI do not share the same doubts, because we are not hitting all the power stations and all the water supply in Yugoslavia. On the contrary, we have taken great care to ensure that we hit only those targets that are of direct assistance to the military. That is why there have been many fewer bombing runs than there were during the Gulf war. I am pleased that we are succeeding in hitting the tanks, the trucks, the armoured personnel carriers and the artillery batteries in Kosovo. Those are the units that are carrying out the direct killing in Kosovo. I want an end to the bombing, but I can agree to that only when there is an end to the butchery of the civilians in Kosovo.
§ Mrs. Alice Mahon (Halifax)May we have an assurance that any resolution will not be based on the Rambouillet ultimatum, which was the severance of Kosovo through NATO bombing with immediate effect, or the severance of Kosovo through NATO occupation three years later? Not surprisingly, the Serbs said no to both.
§ Mrs. MahonRead the document.
§ Mr. CookI am familiar with the text, and with what we put to the Serbs. There was no proposal, as is now claimed by some in Belgrade, to occupy the whole of Yugoslavia. That point was never raised by the Serb side during the talks at Rambouillet. We proposed an arrangement which would have preserved the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic by keeping Kosovo within it; which would have preserved the long-term status of Kosovo, with matters to be resolved in consultation with the Kosovar people; and which would have provided full protection for the Serb minority within Kosovo, with their own elected authority to look after their language, religion and culture. It was the basis for a democratic, self-governing, multi-ethnic Kosovo. I very much regret that Belgrade was not willing to accept what was a fair offer.
§ Mr. Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe)Does the Foreign Secretary agree with the Prime Minister, who told the House last week that he believed that the air campaign, as currently conducted, will achieve in full NATO's five original objectives?
§ Mr. CookI am happy to assure the House that I always agree with my Prime Minister. For the past 48 hours, I have been stressing the success of that campaign, and I have done so again to the House. Only on Friday, I spoke to Hashem Thaqi—the leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo—who told me that the Yugoslav army in Kosovo is even more demoralised than before and has a high rate of desertion. There have been frequently witnessed confrontations involving VJ units leaving the front line and being turned back by the Serb police. We are making a mark, and the VJ army knows it.
§ Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex)Will the Foreign Secretary take steps to move British forces near enough to Kosovo, so that, when fair point. If we are to take advantage of the success of our air campaign, we have to be reathe moment comes—at present, it looks like it will be in the far-distant future—and President Milosevic buckles, there are sufficient troops present to capitalise on that success? Does the Foreign Secretary understand that, unless that happens promptly, not one single refugee will be able to go back to Kosovo this year? What steps are being taken to plan for their maintenance and support in the camps?
§ Mr. CookThe hon. Gentleman raises ady to enter Kosovo when the moment arrives. That is why we have already deployed to Macedonia over 4,000 British troops. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that, at the weekend, we put another 2,300 866 troops on standby to move there. We are making a major commitment, and we are now by far the leading nation within the force that will provide the nucleus for KFOR and enter Kosovo. However, that force must be an alliance force, and that is why we are in dialogue with our allies to make sure that others are deploying forces to the area in the same strength to make sure that we have a balanced contribution.