Gulf War (Hansard, 4 February 1991)

§ Mr. Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with King Hussein of Jordan concerning his proposal for a cease fire in the Gulf; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
We have been in close contact with the Jordanians about the Gulf crisis. We understand that the Jordanian proposal for a ceasefire is no longer being pursued.

§ Mr. Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been received, or promised, from other Governments towards the costs of the deployment of British forces in the Gulf.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
We have received pledges of assistance, both financial and in kind, from a number of countries. It would be difficult to quantify these, or to list every offer. But notable among them are contributions from Germany and Japan; and host nation support facilities from Saudi Arabia.

§ Mr. Darling
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what payments have been(a) made and (b) promised by (i) Kuwait and (ii) other Gulf states in respect of the cost of the war in the Gulf; and to which countries or organisations such payments have been made.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
We are not aware of all pledges, but major among them are those by Kuwait—․16 billion—and Saudi Arabia—․13.5 billion—to the United States. Most Gulf states are providing practical support to forces involved in the hostilities.

§ Mr. Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the ambassador or charge d'affaires of Iraq concerning the level of civilian casualties suffered; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
We have frequently made clear to the Iraqi ambassador our abhorrence of the appalling treatment of Kuwaiti civilians by the Iraqis in breach of the Geneva conventions following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. We have also protested to him about deliberate Iraqi attacks on civilian targets in Israel and Saudi Arabia. By contrast, allied service men have taken considerable risks to minimise Iraqi civilian casualties in the current hostilities.