Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of Russian compliance with the provisions of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances of December 1994.

Mr David Lidington, Minister of State for Europe: The UK is not a signatory to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which is an agreement between the US and Russia, as well as successor states to the former Soviet Union, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The UK, together with NATO Allies has called on Russia to preserve the viability of the INF Treaty through ensuring full and verifiable compliance. The INF Treaty is crucial to Euro-Atlantic security and stability.

Russia’s action in annexing Crimea violates the UN Charter, is illegal under international law and breaches the commitments Russia made in the Budapest Memorandum. The UK does not, and will not, recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. As I stated in my response to the Rt Hon Member for Clwyd West on 9 September 2014 (208218), the UK, and international partners, continue to condemn unreservedly all illegal interventions by Russia in Ukraine.

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