§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what diplomatic efforts Her Majesty's Government are making through the UN and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe to mediate between the warring factions in the trans-Caucasus region.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggBoth bilaterally, and at the UN and with our EC and Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe partners we have consistently deplored the fighting in the Trans-Caucasus. We have supported UN Security Council resolutions calling for ceasefires and the resolution of the conflicts in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh through peaceful negotiations. We have also supported the deployment of UN monitors in Abkhazia.
The CSCE has taken the lead in the search for a settlement in South Ossetia and, through the Minsk group, has put forward a plan for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are now actively considering joining the Minsk group.