§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the arrangements that have been made to assist the retraining of Ukrainian military personnel; and if he will make a statement; [9407]
(2) what assistance is being provided for the resettlement of Ukrainian armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [9408]
§ Mr. SoamesIn the course of an increasingly warm bilateral relationship with Ukraine, representatives of the Ukrainian MOD, the defence and security committee of the Supreme Council and the ex-servicemen's committee have been briefed on the UK system for retraining and resettling retired military personnel. These discussions are expected to continue. I also understand that assistance in this area has been provided by the FCO's know-how fund, by the European Union technical aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States—TACIS—programme, by the Soros Foundation's international renaissance foundation and by the German Government.