Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Shailesh Vara (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 3 November 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Russia

Question: How does the Secretary of State rank Russia in terms of the threat that it poses to British national security?

Answer: The Russian action in Georgia was totally unacceptable and disproportionate, so there cannot be any question of relations as normal as long as the Russians fail to implement the understandings reached in August and September, which they have not yet done. NATO continues to conduct effective and proper contingency planning to deal with a range of different security scenarios, but we have also made it very clear that Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO. NATO presents no security threat to the Russian Federation; it is a purely defensive alliance. Who is, and who is not, a member of NATO is a matter for NATO members and no one else.

Secondary information