§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent allegations made by Britain in the United Nations Sanctions Committee that Syria has violated UN sanctions on Iraqi oil. [32860]
§ Mr. BradshawRegular media and oil industry reports have shown that in 2001 Syria suddenly began exporting an average of over 100,000 barrels of oil per day more than the previous year, without increasing its own domestic production. These reports have consistently attributed this to Syria's illegal import of large quantities of Iraqi oil through the Kirkuk-Banias pipeline connecting the two countries. 100,000 barrels per day is a significant amount of oil, worth at current prices about $260 million of humanitarian funding every six months. This is more than Iraq plans to spend on medicine or education under the current six-month phase of the humanitarian programme. The export of Iraqi oil, without seeking UN approval, would be a serious breach of UN resolutions 661 and 986. We have therefore sought Syrian assurances in the UN Sanctions Committee that they will make transparent the operation of this pipeline, bring it within the UN system and allow the revenue raised from it to benefit the Iraqi people rather than the Baghdad regime.