Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 April 2023.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly hosts Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman in London to sign joint declaration on bilateral cooperation.

• UK and Croatia foreign ministers sign joint declaration to enhance cooperation on defence and security, migration, trade and climate change
• Foreign Secretary emphasises support to Ukraine and promoting prosperity and stability in Western Balkans as top international priorities

The UK is reinforcing its partnership with Croatia with a renewed vision for cooperation across defence and security, trade, migration and climate change.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly signed a joint declaration on bilateral cooperation with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlić Radman in London today (28 April).

The declaration will also step up cooperation in the fight against climate change and deliver on the Prime Minister’s priorities of tackling illegal migration and growing the UK’s economy.

The foreign ministers emphasised the need to accelerate support for Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression and strengthen stability, democracy and the rule of law in the Western Balkans.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The UK and Croatia are important allies. From our ongoing support to Ukraine, to protecting peace and stability in the Western Balkans, we work closely to secure our shared security and prosperity.

Today we’ve signed a joint declaration which cements our commitment to intensify that cooperation on defence, trade and cultural ties.

The declaration will also step up cooperation in the fight against climate change and tackle illegal migration.

Following last year’s 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, both foreign ministers agreed to build on the strong commercial relationship and close ties between our countries.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 28 April 2023.

Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, hosted an event at the FCDO on 27 April with the Syrian Emergency Task Force.

Distinguished guests, colleagues, friends.

Thank you for joining us today for this important discussion on the need for accountability in Syria. In particular, a very special thank you to our panellists, all of whom have been resolute in their demands for justice.

While I will let them tell their own stories, what will become clear is that the Syrian regime has, for more than 12 years, shown a complete disregard for the sanctity of human life.

It is impossible not to be moved by the powerful images on display. While these images make for harrowing viewing, bearing witness is a first, critical step in the pursuit of justice.

The Syrian people have endured unimaginable suffering. And while the propaganda merchants of Damascus, Moscow and Tehran seek to rewrite history, the evidence we can see and hear today underlines where responsibility for these abuses principally lies: with the Asad regime, and its allies – Russia and Iran.

The UK has stood with the Syrian people from the outset of this conflict. We continue to work with our partners, and the UN, to advance an inclusive political process and an end to the conflict. We have delivered more than £3.8 billion in humanitarian assistance since 2012, our largest ever commitment to a single humanitarian crisis.

Most recently, the UK acted swiftly to respond to the devastating earthquakes of 6 February, increasing support to our partners on the ground; we were able to provide a package of support worth more than £43 million.

But, UK support goes further than humanitarian funding. I am proud of the relationships the UK Government has built with Syrian civil society. The Syrian people are at the heart of justice and accountability efforts, and your voices will always have a place in guiding UK policy.

The UK also uses our position in the Human Rights Council and at the Security Council to highlight the scale of human rights abuses in Syria – we will not let up.

We support information sharing and evidence collection mechanisms, which have helped with judicial convictions, including the landmark trial of Anwar Raslan.

We support the creation of a new UN mechanism to focus on the missing. And we maintain a robust sanctions regime – our second largest – on those responsible for atrocities against the Syrian people.

We also work to expose the malign way in which the Syrian regime is destabilising the region. The regime enriches itself and its war machine, for example through the narcotics trade, whilst the Syrian people starve. To our friends in the region: you have our full support in addressing the harmful influence that Syrian narcotics and this conflict have on your societies.

Right now, some of our closest partners might be reconsidering their relations with Syria. Dialogue has hastened and we are all aware of ongoing discussions about Syria’s role in the region; we understand our partners’ desire for peace, but I want to emphasise that the UK’s stance on non-engagement with Damascus has not changed.

We will not work with a regime which shows no remorse and which has not shown any willingness to change its behaviour.

Our stance is guided by our values, but also by the evidence from other contexts of how conflicts can be sustainably ended. We believe the best way to achieve a lasting peace in Syria is through collective pressure, with clear demands of the regime including: a nationwide ceasefire; releasing those arbitrarily detained; conditions for safe refugee returns; and opening a safe political space, leading to free and fair elections. We will continue to work with our partners in the region and elsewhere to achieve these goals.

A Syria for all Syrians is possible. A Syria where people are free to live without fear of forced disappearance; without fear of systematic torture and sexual violence; and without fear that chemical weapons will again be used against them.

Let me end by saying that there can be no peace without accountability; that is as true in Syria as it is in Ukraine. The UK remains as committed to the Syrian people as we were when you first took to the streets demanding the most basic of freedoms.

The cause of accountability is not straightforward. But as Martin Luther King put it, though the arc of history is long, it bends towards justice.

Thank you all, once again, for joining us today and I will now hand over to Charles King, our Acting Special Envoy to Syria.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 27 April 2023.

The Trilateral Mechanism and the Quad gave a joint statement, welcoming the announcement to extend the ceasefire in Sudan.

Statement by the Trilateral Mechanism (the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the United Nations) and the Quad (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States):

Members of the Trilateral Mechanism (the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the United Nations) and the Quad (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States) welcome the announcement by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to extend the current ceasefire for an additional 72 hours and call for its full implementation.

We also welcome their readiness to engage in dialogue towards establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.  This initial phase of diplomacy to establish a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements will contribute to action on development of a de-escalation plan as outlined in the April 20 African Union communique, which was endorsed by the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Troika, and other bilateral partners.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 27 April 2023.

Statement by Fergus Eckersley, UK Political Coordinator at the United Nations at the Security Council meeting on Kosovo.

Thank you. Let me begin by thanking Special Representative Ziadeh for her briefing and for the work her team are doing to promote stability and respect for human rights in Kosovo.

Over the last year Kosovo’s democracy and institutions have continued to show their maturity. This is reflected in its climb up international rankings on political and civil liberties. Kosovo demonstrated the third highest increase of any country in 2022. We congratulate Kosovo on this improvement.

We welcome the government’s efforts to tackle corruption and strengthen the rule of law, and its commitment to tackling domestic and gender-based violence. We recognise the important role UNMIK has played in supporting Kosovo’s remarkable progress over the past 24 years, and the work it continues to do today and let me be clear, we remain fully supportive of Resolution 1244.

Conditions on the ground are, however, unrecognisable from 1999 and in line with our normal council practice on other mandates we believe it is time for a review of UNMIK’s role and responsibilities. This would allow the Council to take a fresh look at how UNMIK can adapt to serve the current conditions in Kosovo.

Colleagues, for many years the absence of a normal relationship between Kosovo and Serbia has had implications for regional stability and communities in both countries. We therefore welcome the considerable progress that has been made in the Normalisation Dialogue under EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak, including the 27 February Brussels Agreement and its Implementation Annex negotiated on 18 March in Ohrid. Now is the moment for both parties to engage in the Dialogue in good faith, honour their commitments, and avoid actions or rhetoric that could reduce prospects for a comprehensive and sustainable normalisation agreement.

Kosovo and Serbia have committed to the establishment of an Association of Serb Majority Municipalities. We urge both parties to engage swiftly and constructively so the Association can be established as soon as possible. We strongly encourage both sides to demonstrate the political will and courage to deliver on what has been agreed. This is in the long-term interests of citizens on both sides.

There are more immediate challenges too. Instead of a secure and safe environment in the north of Kosovo, there is a continuing security vacuum that leaves communities isolated and without vital every day services. We welcome the role played by KFOR and EULEX but this cannot be the long term solution. We need to support functioning institutions in the north, working to serve the interests of those they were elected to represent.

Let me finish by reiterating that the UK remains committed to supporting an inclusive, diverse and multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo and its full participation in the international system.