§ The Earl of Carlisle asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ Whether they believe that the Russian Federation has done all in its power, in accordance with its request for membership of the Council of Europe, "to settle outstanding international border disputes according to the principles of international law, abiding by the existing international treaties".
§ Lord WhittyMy Lords, Her Majesty's Government share the Council of Europe's assessment of 22nd June that the Russian Federation has made significant progress towards meeting its membership commitments. There are a number of outstanding questions, including the borders with China and Japan, where Russia has worked hard to find a solution, and those with the Baltic states. The Government have encouraged Russia to sign border agreements with Latvia and Estonia, without linkage to other issues, as soon as possible. We shall continue to watch the situation closely.
The Earl of CarlisleMy Lords, I thank the Minister for his helpful reply. Does he agree that seven years is a long time to negotiate a border treaty? Does he further agree that since the Baltic states regained their independence, the Russian Federation has put every obstacle in the path of recognising the borders that Lenin recognised in 1920 in the Treaty of Riga and the Treaty of Tartu respectively? Will the noble Lord ask the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to send Foreign Secretary Primakov a pen so that he can sign the treaties with Latvia and Estonia?
§ Lord WhittyMy Lords, I am sure that even in these days the Russian Ministry has pens. It does not, however, yet have the political will to sign those treaties. The 1920 treaties do not involve exactly the same borders as have now been technically agreed. Those borders have been agreed at the technical level, but the Russians are not signing the treaties. However, while we do not want any explicit linkage with other issues, it is also the case that in Estonia and Latvia the treatment of the Russian minorities is an important issue both in this context and in the context of application to join the European Union.
§ Baroness RawlingsMy Lords, given the Foreign Secretary's ethical foreign policy stance, does the 102 Minister think it appropriate for one member state to have territorial claims over another member state within the Council of Europe?
§ Lord WhittyMy Lords, it is undesirable. However, a number of such claims are still outstanding. The whole point of the Council of Europe is to ensure that such issues are settled amicably within the commitments made when one becomes a member of the Council of Europe.