The UK Government does not speculate on any future sanctions designations. With regard to Nagorno Karabakh, the UK Government has been clear that there is no military solution to the conflict and continues to work with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Governments to encourage them to engage in substantive negotiations to secure a sustainable and peaceful settlement.

Underlying humanitarian conditions in Syria are a product of Assad's violent campaign against the Syrian people. Even before the 6 February earthquake, the UN assessed that 15.3 million Syrians required humanitarian assistance. The UK has committed £3.8 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria since 2012. Since the earthquake, we have pledged £43.3 million. The UK will not lift sanctions targeting the regime until they change behaviour and engage in the UN political process. UK sanctions do not target humanitarian aid, food, or medical supplies. On 15 February, we issued two General Licences, which build on existing humanitarian provisions, to further facilitate relief efforts in Syria following the earthquake.

We are not aware of evidence that Italian companies are trading with Russia in breach of sanctions. If anyone has such evidence, they should share it without delay with the Italian authorities, who are committed to strictly enforcing sanctions. We continue to work closely with Italy, including through the G7, as we coordinate international sanctions in response to Putin's illegal invasion. We understand that the Italian Government has already frozen over 900 million euros worth of Russian assets subject to sanctions.

We do not speculate about possible future sanctions designations. We regularly raise human rights concerns with the Turkish government at Ministerial and senior official level. We will continue to encourage Turkey to adopt reforms, such as the next phase of the current reform process aimed at strengthening the role of the judiciary, and to sustain democracy, respect the rule of law and protect fundamental freedoms, in line with its international commitments.

We will not discuss possible responses to hypothetical situations. The Foreign Secretary made clear our concerns about reports that the new Israeli Government coalition has reached an agreement, which may pave the way for annexation of parts of the West Bank, during a call with the Israeli Foreign Minister on 2 June. We also reiterated our concerns at the UN Security Council remote meeting on the Middle East Peace Process on 20 May. The UK position is clear: any unilateral moves towards annexation of parts of the West Bank by Israel would be damaging to efforts to restart peace negotiations and contrary to international law.

We assess that the rise in food prices in Syria over the past year is primarily a result of the deteriorating economic situation in neighbouring Lebanon, whose economy is intrinsically linked to Syria's; the corresponding loss in the value of the Syrian pound; damage to agricultural areas and productivity due to war and fires in summer 2019; and latterly border closures related to COVID-19. We do not assess international sanctions to be a major factor: EU sanctions are carefully targeted on specific sectors and individuals, in order to minimise their impact on ordinary Syrians, and do not apply to the food sector. More generally, the ongoing conflict combined with mismanagement and corruption by the Assad regime explain most of the problems of the Syrian economy.

​We keep our Syria sanctions under regular review and actively seek to minimise their impact on ordinary Syrians, engaging regularly with non-governmental organisations to understand the practical impact of the sanctions on the population. Exemptions and licences already apply to the sanctions regime in order to minimise any detrimental effects on ordinary Syrians. The sanctions are aimed at ending the violent repression of the civilian population in Syria by the Assad regime and pressing the regime to engage seriously with the political process.

The Government is aware of the appeal made on 23 August 2016 by the Christian Patriarchs to lift international sanctions against Syria. We continue to believe that sanctions we support against Syria are justified. Sanctions have been imposed to constrain the Assad regime's ability to wage war against the Syrian people, and to help bring about a long-term political solution. While it is impossible to avoid impacting the Syrian civilian population, the EU has created a number of mechanisms to allow for humanitarian aid to continue. As the second largest bilateral donor to the humanitarian response in Syria since 2011, the UK is at the forefront of the response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict. All EU sanctions against the Assad regime are annually reviewed and agreed by each of the 28 EU Member States.

We are committed to working with the Government of Burma and international partners to resolve the situation in Rakhine state. The overwhelming support for the Burma Resolution in the UN Third Committee on 16 November – which the UK co-sponsored - demonstrates the strength of feeling across the international community. We will continue to call on the Burmese government to send a clear message that the security forces must stop the violence; to ensure a full investigation of allegations of human rights violations; to allow full access to the UN Fact Finding Mission and to commit to ensuring accountability for the perpetrators

We believe t​he adoption by the UN Security Council of the Presidential Statement on 6 November is a significant step. While encouraged by recent statements by Aung San Suu Kyi, we expect action to be taken on the Council's statement. International pressure will continue until those forced to flee can return in safety, free from fear of persecution and attack.​

EU sanctions are designed to impose a cost on Russia for its illegal actions in Ukraine. So far the EU has listed 151 individuals in line with the designation criteria agreed by the Council. The EU has focused on listing Russians who have (amongst other things) been associated with, voiced support for, and been held responsibility for destabilising eastern Ukraine and annexing Crimea.

We have been concerned with the escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly around the town of Maryinka on 3 June. Reports by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the movement of a large amount of heavy weapons in separatist held areas, close to Maryinka, preceding and during the fighting, point clearly to this being a separatist provocation. At the G7 Summit on 7-8 June, all G7 leaders were clear that sanctions should be linked to Russia’s complete implementation of the Minsk agreements and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The UK is deeply concerned by the increasing violence and political polarisation in Libya and its impact on the wider region. We strongly support the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Bernardino Leon, and the UN Support Mission in Libya, to resolve the political and security crisis and pave the way for peaceful political dialogue. The UK, together with members of the UN Security Council, welcomed the first round of dialogue talks hosted by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in Geneva on 14 and 15 January. We urged all those who were invited to attend a second round of talks in Geneva this week. These negotiations should be pursued with goodwill and adopting inclusive policies, with the aim of laying the foundations for a Government of National Unity.

We are prepared to take action against parties who continue to use violence to pursue political goals through the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2174.

The UK has stated that the Russian Government ban on import on food and agriculture products is totally unjustified and has no legitimate grounds.

The European Commission, in consultation with Member States, has responded with emergency measures designed to stabilise EU markets and to alleviate the effects of the Russian import ban on producers and businesses. Initially, schemes were introduced to support the growers of peaches and nectarines, the highly perishable fruit and vegetable sectors and the dairy sector.

The initial support schemes for cheese and fruit and vegetables were withdrawn due to a surge of applications, not all of which related to products directly exported to Russia. The Commission has now implemented a revised scheme for fruit and vegetables, which, unlike its predecessor, is mainly targeted at those Member States (not the UK) with a track record of exports to Russia. In response to calls from some Member States, including the Baltics, the Commission are considering further targeted measures for the dairy sector.

On fisheries, the UK and some Baltic states are exploring the possibility of banking some of their 2014 fisheries quota for the pelagic sector to be used in 2015.

The UK has encouraged the EU Commission to focus more attention on access to alternative markets to help offset the problems for European food producers caused by Russia’s recent restrictions. Small businesses can face disproportionately higher trade barriers than larger companies and we have also asked the Commission to see what could be done to cut the red tape that can prevent EU businesses from selling into alternative markets.

The Government has been expressing concerns to Russia about the economic sanctions it has placed on countries in its near neighbourhood and will continue to do so.

Our Ambassador in Moscow raised the matter with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin during a recent meeting in Moscow. Other senior officials have also raised this issue in London and Moscow, including during meetings with the Russian Ambassador to London.

The EU Commissioner responsible for enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Stefan Fule, summarised our shared concerns clearly in his public statement that “any threats from Russia linked to the possible signing of agreements with the European Union are unacceptable”.

The UK has no plans to seek a mandatory UN arms embargo on supplies of arms and military equipment to Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), our focus is on supporting the work of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to find a political solution to the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. I also refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by Lord Newby on 10 April 2013 on the OSCE arms embargo, Official Report col. WA 263.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has policy responsibility for enforcing sanctions on armaments. HMRC works in conjunction with the UK Border Force (UKBF) to detect and investigate attempted or actual breaches of sanctions. HMRC and the UKBF use a risk-based and intelligence-led strategy to enforce all sanctions. They maintain risk profiles on all exports of armaments, including for sanctions on Eritrea. Both HMRC and the UKBF treat enforcing export sanctions as a high priority.