Tag: Foreign Office

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council briefing on Mali.

Thank you, President. Thank you, SRSG Wane, for your briefing. Let me underscore our appreciation for the hard work and the courage of MINUSMA’s peacekeepers.

Last time the Council met on Mali, we had just received the Secretary-General’s review. This established four parameters against which progress was needed for MINUSMA to remain effective and relevant. There are clear indications in the latest report that progress has not been made. In fact, the trajectory seems to be worsening in several respects.

First, ground and air movement restrictions continue to hinder peacekeepers, with almost a quarter of flight requests rejected by the authorities during the reporting period. This impedes the protection of civilians and places peacekeepers at risk.

Second, there was the expulsion of MINUSMA’s human rights director, following the dangerous criticism directed at the civil society representative who briefed this Council in January. This reflects a worrying disregard for the mission’s mandate. We count on the mission’s continued commitment to investigate and report on human rights. In this regard, we urge the release without further delay of the UN report on the alleged massacre of civilians in Moura by Malian armed forces and Wagner Group personnel in March 2022.

Third, tensions persist between Peace Agreement signatories. The UK, along with wider International Mediation, stand ready to support. We urge the parties to engage with the International Mediation proposals presented last week aimed at relaunching the peace process. While all parties need to show willingness to engage on concrete implementation measures, it is the Malian authorities that ultimately have primary responsibility to implement the Agreement. We urge them to make the first step.

Fourth, the timely transition to constitutional rule by March 2024 remains imperative. Electoral and constitutional reforms should not be allowed to impede this.

President, in June this Council will be faced with some difficult decisions. With few visible signs from the Malian authorities of a commitment to meeting the Secretary-General’s parameters, it cannot be business as usual for MINUSMA’s mandate renewal in June. We should be ready to adapt and refocus the mission, reviewing any support that carries risks to the UN’s credibility and reputation.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

New sanctions announced target those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.

New sanctions announced by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly today (Wednesday 12 April) target those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.

In the face of unprecedented international sanctions in response to Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine – with over £18 billion of Russian and other assets frozen in the UK alone – oligarchs have scrambled to shield their wealth with the help of financial fixers, offshore trusts, shell companies, and even using their family members.

Now UK experts have uncovered their financial networks – tracing those responsible for facilitating the activity and sanctioning them directly with asset freezes, travel bans, transport sanctions, and trust services sanctions. Working in partnership across Whitehall, the FCDO, HMRC, NCA, OFSI and others such as DfT, are enforcing sanctions and pursuing those who try to undermine them.

Among those sanctioned are Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades, 2 Cypriot professional enablers supporting major Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov. Ioannides is responsible for crafting the murky offshore structures which Abramovich used to hide over £760 million assets ahead of being sanctioned following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Vassiliades, a Cypriot lawyer, is at the centre of a web of trusts and offshore companies that link Usmanov and Sutton Place Estate.

The UK has also targeted Usmanov’s financial network, including companies USM, Curzon Square Limited, and Hanley Limited. Sanctioning these companies ensures that assets associated with Usmanov – including the £90 million Beechwood House mansion in London – remain sanctioned. Curzon Square Limited, the outfit that acted as Usmanov’s London office and as leaseholder of a Grade II mansion on Curzon Square, is also subject to an asset freeze. Vladimir and Varvara Skoch, the father and daughter of Usmanov’s business partner and ”richest man in the Duma” Andrei Skoch, have also been sanctioned.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

We are closing the net on the Russian elite and those who try to help them hide their money for war.

There’s no place to hide. We will keep cutting them off from assets they thought were successfully hidden.

Together with our international partners the UK will continue to crack down on those who are supporting the war.

We won’t stop until Putin does.

Today’s package hits a number of family members of other oligarchs, who are used as proxies to hide their assets. This includes:

• Tatiana Evtushenkova, the acting director of firm Redline Capital which is owned by her father, Vladimir Evtushenkov
• Natalia Evtushenkov, wife of Vladimir Evtushenkov who holds board positions in banks and other companies in which her husband owns stakes including MTS Bank. She is also on the board of directors for Telecomms company Instacom International, which is owned by her husband
• Felix Evtushenkov, whose father Vladimir transferred 10% of shares in Russian conglomerate Sistema to Felix at the time of his own designation, bringing Vladimir’s stake to below 50%
• Gulnara Kerimova, who holds four luxury villas in France on behalf of her father Suleyman Kerimov
• Nariman Gadzhiev, who acts as the beneficiary owner of a series of shell companies connected to Kerimov. A company linked to Gadzhiev was found to be transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to companies linked to his uncle Kerimov
• Oksana Marchenko, the wife of key Putin ally Victor Medvedchuk, and owner of multiple luxury properties in Crimea

Today’s package comes as part of the UK’s crackdown on all forms of evasion and circumvention – including an additional £50 million announced as part of the new Economic Deterrence Initiative to support sanctions enforcement and continued work with international partners.

The Home Secretary also recently announced the expansion of the National Crime Agency’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell to target corrupt elites and their enablers.

The UK, alongside international partners, is also continuing to strengthen the unprecedented sanctions imposed to constrain Russia’s capacity to wage its illegal war – including through the new enforcement co-ordination mechanism to bolster the compliance and enforcement of our measures.

By implementing these measures, the UK is ensuring – consistent with its legal systems – that Putin and those who continue to support his war have no access to any of these assets until they end their violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 April 2023.

Ambassador Bush says the arrival of Spring is overshadowed for a second year by Russia’s destructive and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Firstly, I would like to thank Ms Herasymchuck for her statement. Madam Chair, since we last met in this Council, millions across the OSCE region have welcomed the arrival of Spring; celebrating new life, rebirth and community. While we may look ahead to warmer, brighter days, for many Ukrainians the upcoming Easter celebrations will be overshadowed for a second year by Russia’s destructive and unprovoked invasion.

Thousands of Ukrainian families will be missing loved ones from their tables and family gatherings in the coming days: those killed by Russian invaders; those serving to defend Ukraine; unlawfully detained persons and all those forced from their homes. This Easter, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, over 6,000 Ukrainian children will be in Russia’s custody, without their parents – some as far as 4,000 miles from their homes. We await the Moscow Mechanism report on this latest cruelty from Russia.

This devastation also includes families grieving in Russia. Thousands of Russian soldiers have senselessly lost their lives in Ukraine – many of them recruited from minority communities, in Russia’s poorest regions. Poorly trained, ill equipped and with non-existent leadership, these men – young and old – were led to their deaths by Moscow’s lies and propaganda. The Russian leadership has shown a complete disregard for the lives of its citizens – to fight a war that many do not understand or believe in.

Spring also marks a busy time for agricultural producers across the OSCE region. However, in Ukraine, the simple act of tending to the land could result in serious injury or death. More than 5 million hectares of Ukraine’s farmland has been damaged in the war – an area larger than Slovakia. Vast areas will need to be cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance and re-cultivated. Russian forces stole or destroyed agricultural equipment and left seed and crops to rot, while bombs, bullets, starvation and disease killed hundreds of thousands of animals and millions of poultry birds. We continue to see the impact of Russia’s actions on world food prices and on the most food-insecure communities around the globe.

Every day, ordinary Ukrainians live under the constant threat of attack while trying to go on with their lives. This weekend residential areas, including in Kramatorsk and Kupiansk, were the target of Russian shelling and rocket attacks, which claimed more innocent lives including a little 11-year-old girl and her father. Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Sunday resulted in a further three deaths. The relentless loss of life and devastation caused by Russia’s aggression since February 2022 is incomprehensible.

We will remember each one of these lives taken. We will not forget the names of the children separated from their parents. We will honour those who have given their lives and livelihoods in the defence of their country. Time and again, we have called on Russia to end this war, to end the suffering to Ukraine, to its own people and to all affected around the world. However, it is clear Russia’s political leadership does not want peace.

Madam Chair, there is hope. The Ukrainian people have demonstrated repeatedly that they will not give up their right to freedom and a democratic future; they will not bow in the face of Russian aggression. And Ukraine’s friends will not give up either. As evidenced by the wide-ranging diplomatic, economic, military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine by its partners, Russia should not harbour any illusions that this support will diminish. It will not. Ukraine will have peace; a just and lasting peace on Ukraine’s terms; a peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; and a peace that restores the stability and security of Europe and the wider global community. And we will be standing by them.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 April 2023.

The Media Freedom Coalition Executive Group has released a statement on the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 April 2023.

Mr Gareth Keith Hoar has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Independent State of Samoa in succession to Mr David Ward who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Hoar will take up his appointment during June 2023.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Gareth Keith Hoar

Married to: Rebecca Haixiang Hoar

Date	Role
2018 to 2022	Wuhan, HM Consul General
2017 to 2018	Full Time Language Training (Mandarin)
2016 to 2017	Beijing, Director DIT China (temporary duty)
2012 to 2016	Melbourne, HM Consul General
2008 to 2012	Beijing, Deputy Director, UKTI China
2007 to 2008	City of London (on secondment), Head of International Affairs
2005 to 2007	FCO, China Team Leader, Far Eastern Group
2002 to 2005	Beijing, First Secretary, Trade and Investment
2000 to 2001	Guangzhou, HM Consul General
1997 to 1999	Guangzhou, Vice-Consul
1994 to 1997	FCO, Human Resources Officer (Graduate, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development 1996)
1991 to 1994	Washington, Third Secretary, Press and Public Affairs
1989 to 1991	Santiago, Administration Officer
1986 to 1988	Beijing, Commercial Attaché
1984 to 1986	FCO, Personnel Operations Department

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 April 2023.

His Majesty King Charles III has awarded the Honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) to Mr Kuwahara in recognition of his exceptional contribution to furthering UK-Japan cooperation in civil nuclear.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 April 2023.

Statement by Deputy Political Coordinator Alice Jacobs at the UN Security Council debate on export of weapons and military equipment.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 April 2023.

UK Minister for Development and Africa visits Cameroon and reaffirms UK support to trade and infrastructure.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 April 2023.

Joint Statement by France and the United Kingdom on the 25th anniversary of their ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 6 April 2023.

Minister for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited Egypt during Ramadan.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, British Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, UN and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict reaffirmed the close ties between the United Kingdom and Egypt during his second visit to the country, engaging in several meetings with key Egyptian interlocutors.

Visiting Cairo for two days during the holy month of Ramadan, Lord Ahmad met Egyptian officials, faith leaders and figures from across business and civil society to discuss UK-Egypt cooperation; discussing the UK’s commitment on religious harmony, reaffirming Egypt as a key market for UK businesses and investors, and recognising Egyptian efforts to reduce tensions in the region

Meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Lord Ahmad discussed the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, thanking Egypt for its unceasing efforts to promote peace and reduce tensions between the two sides. The minister was clear that the UK firmly rejects violence and unilateral action which will only serve to exacerbate tensions, undermining efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution. The two ministers also discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the negative effect the conflict has had on the world economy, including in the MENA region.

Lord Ahmad later met the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyab, as well as with His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In his meetings with both leaders, he discussed the vital importance of religious dialogue and tolerance, especially during troubled times worldwide. Egypt has always been an example of how different faiths can live in harmony, and the minister was pleased to be able to meet with some young Azhari scholars to discuss how religion can continue to be a force for good regionally and globally.

Lord Ahmad also met with leading businesspeople and economists, exploring how UK firms can continue to work with Egyptian partners to seek out mutually beneficial investment opportunities. Under Egypt’s Presidency of COP27, UK companies have been making significant investments in the Egyptian renewables sector, including in green hydrogen, and the minister was keen to raise ambition further and identify future areas of collaboration.

At an evening suhour held at the Embassy, Lord Ahmad was also able to engage with a wide variety of prominent Egyptians from across business, government and civil society, sharing his experiences of Ramadan in the UK, and reflecting on how countries and governments can live up to the ideals of the holy month.

During his time in Egypt, Lord Ahmad also met with the family of Alaa Abd el-Fattah. He stressed that the UK continues to push for immediate consular access, and Alaa’s release, and that he had raised the matter directly with Foreign Minister Shoukry. In addition, Lord Ahmad met with Karim Ennarah to discuss his case.

Completing the visit, Lord Ahmad met with Ahmed Hatem, Egyptian actor and British Embassy social affairs ambassador, and with experts in combating gender-based violence, to discuss how the UK can support Egyptian organisations working in this field, including through the new UK fund, ‘Laha wa Maha’, which supports projects tackling gender-based violence.

Speaking after the visit, Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Ahmad said:

“The month of Ramadan teaches us to reflect on ourselves and on our connections to others, personally and professionally. In doing so, it is clear to me that the partnership between Egypt and the UK is of deep and lasting significance. From issues of regional and global concern, such as reducing tensions in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or working together to tackle the climate crisis, to issues of bilateral importance, such as increasing mutual trade and investment, our partnership is strategic and enduring.

“During my visit, I have met with Egypt’s political and religious leaders to ensure our joint activity delivers positive change for the Egyptian and British people. This includes tackling global challenges such as the war in Ukraine, a matter which I discussed with Foreign Minister Shoukry. It also includes helping the most vulnerable in our societies, and I was delighted to meet with some of the beneficiaries of UK aid here in Egypt, through the ‘Laha wa Maha’ Fund, to hear about the change it has made to their lives. As we move forward, we must continue to discuss this full range of issues – from trade, to aid, to human rights – to strengthen our partnership further and achieve outcomes of benefit to all.”