§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when the British Embassy in Moscow learnt of the Interfax report of 6 December 1998 that a rescue attempt was to be made to release the hostages in Chechnya, employed by Granger Telecom; [66958]
(2) when his Department in London learned of the BBC World Service report from the Caversham Monitoring Service that Interfax had reported that a rescue attempt was to be made to release the hostages in Chechnya employed by Granger Telecom. [66959]
§ Mr. Tony LloydOn 7 December 1998, HM Embassy Moscow saw the Interfax news agency dispatch reporting Chechen assertions that the men were being held outside Chechnya and that Russian law-enforcement agencies might try to rescue the hostages.
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the advice he has placed in the Library in respect of people travelling to Chechnya was issued to individual visa applicants employed by Granger Telecom or was issued to the company that employed them. [66960]
§ Mr. Tony LloydThe FCO travel advice for Russia, now in the Library, was shown to Granger Telecom management at a meeting with FCO officials on 21 August 1998. Granger Telecom have confirmed to FCO officials that, as a result of that meeting and the 537W advice given, Granger management re-consulted their staff about their willingness to work in Chechnya. The FCO was not made aware of individual visa applications to the Russian Embassy.
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the advice given to travellers visiting Chechnya is the same as that given to people intending to work there. [66961]
§ Mr. Tony LloydSince 7 December 1994, we have advised British nationals not to travel to Chechnya. The travel advice is the same for visiting travellers and for British people intending to work there.