Lord Soames of Fletching (Con)

My Lords, I thank the Lord Speaker for giving me permission to speak sitting down. I am afraid that I am immobile at the moment. The expertise of the my noble friend Lady Helic in these matters is very well known. I share her concern, as do many of us, about the instability threatening Bosnia and Herzegovina and the efforts that are underway to challenge the constitutional order and dismantle the Dayton agreement. Deterrence has been central to that achievement, particularly through NATO and EUFOR Operation Althea. However, greater clarity is needed on their respective roles. In that vein, I urge the Government to take three steps. First, will they clarify the relationship between NATO and Operation Althea, so that there is no ambiguity in the event of a serious challenge to Bosnia’s territorial integrity? Secondly, will the Government seek a third-party participation agreement to facilitate involvement in Operation Althea, which would signal a strong UK commitment to peace in the region, something of profound importance? Thirdly, will the Government lead efforts to secure a credible NATO guarantee of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty to lay to rest once and for all the idea that Bosnia’s borders can be changed by force? We must act decisively, using all the assets—hard and soft, military and diplomatic—and demonstrate the political will required to uphold peace and stability in this region, which is so critical to our interests.