§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with(a) Libya and (b) Syria; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe could not consider restoring diplomatic relations with either Libya or Syria without firm evidence that those countries had given up support for international terrorism.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the return of British diplomats to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarThe embassy will reopen as soon as circumstances permit it to do a useful job. It is still too early to predict when this will be. Meanwhile, officials may from time to time have to visit Kabul to deal with matters relating to the administration and maintenance of our embassy compound. But such visits will in no way affect our attitude towards contacts with the Kabul regime.