§ 3.39 p.m.
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF READING)My Lords, with the permission of the House, I should like to intervene briefly to inform your Lordships that Her Majesty's Government have decided to accede to the Pact of mutual co-operation between Iraq and Turkey, which was signed in Bagdad on February 24. At the same time, we propose to conclude with the Government of Iraq a special agreement for mutual defence co-operation under Article 1 of the Pact, together with supplementary exchanges of notes. The texts of these documents have been agreed with the Government of Iraq and were initialled in Bagdad this morning. They are being published in a White Paper which will be available in the Printed Paper Office this afternoon. It is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to deposit their instrument of accession on the 5th of April, thus bringing the Agreement and its subsidiary Exchange of Notes into force on that date.
It has been our aim to forge a new association with Iraq which would bring our relations into line with those which already exist with Turkey and our other partners in N.A.T.O. The agreement which we have now reached with the Iraqi Government carries out that aim. It is based on the concept of co-operation between equal partners which it has been our purpose to establish generally in our relations with Middle East countries.
The central theme of the new agreement is that there shall be close and continuous collaboration between the armed forces of the two countries. There will be joint planning and exercises in peace time, so that if ever there were to be an aggression against Iraq we should be in an effective position to support her. We shall advise and give technical assistance in establishing an air defence organisation, including a radar warning and an aircraft reporting system. We shall be able to stock military stores and equipment in Iraq for use in war. Repair workshops and storage depôts will, where necessary, be maintained for the benefit of Iraqi and British forces. There will be British advisers and instructors to assist in the training of the Iraqi army. We shall also provide personnel to assist 258 in the training of the Royal Iraqi air force and to offer continuous consultations regarding methods and technique at all stages. There is provision for mine-watching and mine clearance and we maintain our present facilities for over-flying, landing and servicing our aircraft in Iraq.
As part of these arrangements, the airfields in Iraq which are now occupied by the Royal Air Force will pass under Iraqi control, and the British squadrons now stationed there will be progressively withdrawn. But it is agreed that Royal Air Force squadrons shall visit Iraq as part of the joint training process, and British Service personnel will remain in Iraq to service British aircraft, to install, operate and maintain facilities and equipment, as well as to assist in the training of the Iraqi forces. These men will be commanded by British officers acting in close liaison with the Iraqi officer in command of each establishment. They will enjoy the appropriate immunities, and provision is made for the requisite services and accommodation for them. The installations at the airfields which are required for our use will remain British property. The remainder will either be sold to the Iraq Government or to other purchasers. Where we maintain an interest, they will be handed over to the Iraq Government under mutually satisfactory terms and conditions. Thus we shall be furnished with all the necessary facilities and arrangements to enable us to carry out our part of the defence of Iraq and the Middle East. At the same time, we have established a basis of free and equal partnership which truly reflects the relations we desire with the Iraqi people, and I believe that it will stand the test of time.
This agreement marks a new departure in our relations with Iraq. We have moved away from the bilateral arrangements laid down by the 1930 Treaty, which, as the House knows, would in any event have terminated in eighteen months' time and which now comes to an end by agreement. Instead, we have been able to evolve a system which will serve as the foundation of a general defence arrangement in the Middle East. We warmly welcome the active contribution which our Turkish allies have made to this new arrangement. We hope that it will eventually include other countries in the area. I wish to make it clear that in 259 acceding to the Pact we are not associating ourselves with the Letters which were exchanged at the time of its signature between the Turkish and Iraqi Governments on the subject of Palestine.
We have not forgotten the levies and civilians who for many years have given faithful service to the Royal Air Force in Iraq. We hope that many of the levies will join the Iraqi armed forces and that many of the civilians will be able to continue in employment at the airfields. I can assure the House that we shall care for those who do not, including the Assyrian Christians: and in this we count on the co-operation of the Iraqi Government. Proper arrangements will be made for pensions, gratuities, vocational training and re-settlement in Iraq in all suitable cases.
It is our hope that these arrangements will lead to increased stability and security in the Middle East. The Pact to which we are acceding is fully in accord with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. It is a purely defensive arrangement which respects the independence of the countries concerned and their neighbours and is not directed against anybody.
§ 3.45 p.m.
§ EARL JOWITTMy Lords, I am sure we are all grateful to the noble Marquess for making that important statement to us. I confess that I think it is a matter for congratulation that we have been able to bring about this Agreement. In the past we have had happy and fruitful co-operation with Iraq. The existing Agreement had become rather outmoded by reason of the circumstances, and this new Agreement gives us an augury of further fruitful co-operation in the future on the basis of complete equality as between two great peoples—I am very happy about that. There are one or two matters that I should like to mention. I was particularly glad to hear the noble Marquess say what he did about the levies and the civilians who have for so long worked with us, and the Assyrians, whose case is one which certainly deserves our most sympathetic and prompt consideration. I notice that we have made it plain in this statement that:
we are not associating ourselves with the Letters which were exchanged at the time 260 of its signature between the Turkish and Iraqi Governments on the subject of Palestine.I speak from recollection, but the main purport of those Letters did, I believe, indicate that Israel could not become a partner and would be kept out. Am I right in believing that?
§ EARL JOWITTI thought so. The importance of this statement, to my mind, is to be found in the extent to which it will lead to increased stability and security in the Middle East. That is a vital British interest; I believe it is a vital Turkish interest; it is a vital Iraqi interest; and it is of vital interest to the Arab countries and to Israel that this miserable state of affairs, with its outcrop of frontier incidents, which are inevitable in the circumstances, should be brought to an end. Before we finally leave this subject, I should like the noble Marquess to say a word or two on that matter, saying whether he thinks that, as the outcome of the greater security which this Treaty will give, there is some hope that we may see a happier and more durable situation in the Middle East amongst the Arabs and the Israeli peoples. If so, the announcement that has been made to-day is one of the utmost importance.
§ 3.48 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT SAMUELMy Lords, I am sure noble Lords in all quarters of the House will approve the Agreement in regard to which the noble Marquess has just made his statement. It shows that, although we have withdrawn from the Suez Canal base, Her Majesty's Government do not propose to disinterest themselves from the affairs of the Middle East, and that is a fact of great importance: indeed, their interest in those affairs will be strengthened and exercised by the Pact which they have now joined. This country has not only a great direct interest in the prosperity, stability and security of the Middle East, but also an indirect one, the Queen being the Head of the Commonwealth and other Commonwealth members, in particular, India, Pakistan, Ceylon and, further afield, Australia and New Zealand, being greatly concerned. This Pact will supersede our present long-standing arrangements for future defence with Iraq; it will extend the period and will fortify those arrange 261 ments. I note that Her Majesty's Government say that it is hoped that other countries will also accede to this Pact, and that it will fortify the general system which attaches to the N.A.T.O. organisation. All this is to the good; and the stronger the influence of the British Government is in those regions, the better it will be for all those peoples.
I also noticed two negative points in this Agreement, the first of which—as has been mentioned by the noble and learned Earl who has just spoken—is that the Government dissociate themselves specifically, in definite terms, from the declarations of Turkey and Iraq with regard to Palestine which they made at the time the bilateral Pact was concluded between them. I feel sure that that is a wise course to take. The other negation is to be round in the concluding words, where Her Majesty's Government say—and I am sure it is sincerely meant—that this Pact is purely defensive and is not directed against anybody.
§ 3.52 p.m.
THE MARQUESS OF READINGMy Lords, I am obliged to both noble Lords who have spoken for the generous response which they have given to the announcement of these arrangements. In regard to the specific question which the noble and learned Earl asked, I said in my original statement that one of the main hopes we attach to this new relationship between ourselves and Iraq is that it will give a greater stability to the whole of the Middle East. Anything that gives greater stability and, I think, anything which deters the possibility, or which makes more unlikely the possibility, of aggression from outside that area must be equally to the advantage of Israel and the Arab States. If, as a result of this greater stability, there is a settling down of passions, then any opportunity that comes of making a more permanent settlement in that part of the world will, of course, be welcomed by Her Majesty's Government, and, I have no doubt, by all those associated with us in other countries who have equally an interest in that part of the world. One can say no more. One can only hope that such a situation will arise, and that this Pact, by contributing to the general stability of that part of the world, may assist to a greater degree of peace between the different countries concerned.