argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
James Spencer Cleverly (Conservative, Centre-right): From Prime Minister Trudeau in Canada to Prime Minister Abe in Japan, and from European leaders to leaders in Australia and New Zealand, the leaders of international bodies around the world stand shoulder to shoulder with my right hon. Friend, France and the United States of America in taking this action. Will she assure me that she will not listen to the increasingly small and isolated number of voices who insist that the Russian regime has a veto on our international actions? Will she instead listen to the numerous voices around the world who support the action she took at the weekend?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Nobody should be in any doubt about the role that Russia has played. Russia could play a role to ensure we find a diplomatic and political solution to what is happening in Syria. It has been unwilling to do so and it has supported a regime that has illegally used chemical weapons to kill and injure its own civilians, including young children.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The fact is that without action the message would have been sent that it was okay for this regime, and any other regime that chose to do so, to use chemical weapons. It is very important that we re-establish the fact that chemical weapons use is illegal and that the international community will not stand by and see them used.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We have not ignored the United Nations. We have tried to work through the United Nations, but Russia has vetoed action in the United Nations. If the hon. Gentleman is saying that this country should effectively give Russia a veto over our foreign policy, then I have to say to him that I absolutely disagree. The United Kingdom Government will determine the United Kingdom’s foreign policy—nobody else.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): Russia is waging a propaganda war and it is involved in the cover-up. It is reporting that the attack was staged and it has, over many months, systematically and strategically used social media to undermine western engagement and intervention in Syria. While it is right to hold the Government to account, does my right hon. Friend agree that the Leader of the Opposition is at risk of becoming a voice for our country’s enemies?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): It is important that everybody across this House is in no doubt about the way in which Russia has supported the Syrian regime and the way in which Russia has acted. That has meant it has been much harder to do what the Leader of the Opposition and others have looked for, which is to bring an end to the conflict in Syria. Russia is playing a negative role. It could play a positive role. We should be in no doubt about the actions Russia has taken and the role it is playing.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The right hon. Gentleman quotes the former Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister also said to the House of Commons in 2014: "it is important to reserve the right that if there were a critical British national interest at stake or there were the need to act to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, you could act immediately and explain to the House of Commons afterwards."—[Official Report, 26 September 2014; Vol. 585, c. 1265.]
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen William Hammond (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister was absolutely right in the actions she took and the way she took them. She was also right, in her statement, to continue to press for the re-establishment of the international investigative mechanism. Does she believe that that mechanism and that ambition will be thwarted unless Russia gives up its veto on the Security Council and the OPCW is allowed to continue its investigations unhindered in Syria?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I want the OPCW to be able to continue its investigations unhindered, but my hon. Friend puts his finger on it: unless the Russians are willing, within the Security Council, to put aside the position they have taken previously and accept it is important that we re-establish the international rules-based order, we allow the investigations to take place and we hold the Syrian regime accountable for its actions.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I made reference in my statement to a number of occasions on which the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, as evidenced and accepted by the United Nations. This is exactly the problem. The Syrian regime said it would get rid of its chemical weapons and the Russians said that they would guarantee that that would happen. It did not happen. Chemical weapons have been used on a number of occasions since.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The first step we have taken in the interests of preventing further atrocities is to take action to degrade the chemical weapons capability of the regime. We also want to follow this up with diplomatic and political pressure on the issue of using chemical weapons. We believe that this is not just about degrading the chemical weapons capability of the regime; I hope that it has sent a message to others as well that the international community is resolved in not being willing to see the use of chemical weapons being normalised.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that we should look very carefully at the role that Russia is playing in Syria. Russia has the capability of acting in a different way by ensuring that the parties can sit down together, resolve this issue and find a political solution. It has not been willing to do so thus far, but we will make every effort to ensure that all parties are willing to do that and to ensure that we can find a political solution.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my right hon. Friend put to bed the less than constructive comments we are getting from some Members of the Opposition—that Friday’s action was taken as a knee-jerk reaction to President Trump? Rather, can she give assurances that action was taken in the national interest to give a clear message that using chemical weapons anywhere, whether in Syria or Salisbury, is simply unacceptable, and that we cannot turn our backs on action like this?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The step we want to see is the parties coming together around the table to agree a political solution to the future of Syria. There is a key role; we have been pressing for that. We have been supporting the Geneva process. We continue to support Staffan de Mistura and the work that he is doing. It is up to not just the Syrian regime but its backers to ensure that they are willing to see that discussion take place and a proper solution for Syria being resolved in the interests of all its people.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously, I was one of those who voted in favour of action being taken when the vote was taken in this House in 2013. A guarantee from Russia was accepted, and it has been proved that that was wrong because it did not deliver on that, and the Syrian regime has not delivered on its commitment. It is important that we take the issue of the use of chemical weapons into the United Nations. I spoke to the United Nations Secretary-General about further steps that can be taken over the weekend.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Margaret Ann Throup (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for so clearly laying out the humanitarian grounds on which she made the very difficult decision to take action last Friday. What more humanitarian aid could be provided if only Assad and Putin would allow access to Syria?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises a very important point. If we could have that humanitarian access, many more people in Syria could be supported and provided with the medical support they need and with food and water and the other necessities of life. Sadly, the Syrian regime and its Russian backers are preventing that.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Sarah James (Wollaston) (Conservative, Centre-right): Russia and Syria have lied and lied again about the use of these vile weapons for the mass murder of civilians in Syria, but this is not just a distant conflict; we have also seen these vile weapons used in Salisbury, where they would have resulted in the deaths of three people had it not been for the intervention of intensive care and the expert medical help we have access to here. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is time for people to stop acting as the useful idiots of the Russian regime by appearing on networks such as Russia Today and to look at the facts and bear their own responsibility?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Nobody should be in any doubt about the actions of Russia, and nobody should be supporting them. We should all recognise the role that Russia has played in backing the Syrian regime and in failing to guarantee that it was dismantling all its chemical weapons, and that it continues to play in vetoing action on the UN Security Council and in not encouraging the Syrian regime to come to a resolution of this conflict.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): We have, over the time of this conflict, looked several times at how we can ensure humanitarian access to those who need it in Syria. Our overriding consideration must be to ensure that, whatever decisions are taken and whatever access is given, it will genuinely work and provide that access. Unfortunately, of course, the Syrian regime and its backers have been preventing that humanitarian access so far, but we will continue to press for it.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, we took limited and targeted action to degrade the chemical weapons capability, to deter the willingness of the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons and to give a clear message to others on the use of chemical weapons, but we are resolved—and no one should doubt our resolve—to ensure that we can restore a position in which no one believes that the use of chemical weapons has been normalised.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Alberto Castrenze Costa (Conservative, Centre-right): Given that representatives of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council have blatantly lied and suggested that Britain somehow staged the appalling atrocities that we have all witnessed, can my right hon. Friend confirm that she had no choice but to take the actions that she took to help the Syrian people?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. These actions were taken to alleviate future humanitarian suffering by the Syrian people. I continue to believe—and I think this has been made clear by many Members—that they were the right actions to take.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for making the point that if chemical weapons were allowed to continue to be used, they would be used by other people not just against civilians, but potentially against service personnel. We do want to ensure that there is a major effort on the diplomatic side to find a resolution to the situation in Syria. That is why we continue to back the Geneva process and will work to ensure that it is reignited.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the Prime Minister on the clear and calm, but courageous and decisive, leadership that she has shown over the past week. As a humble Back Bencher, I also thank her for not placing on me the responsibility to make this decision without having the full information and intelligence that were available to her. Does she share my view that while we need to learn the lessons of the past, it is time for the House—and, indeed, our country—to get over the mistakes of the past and stand proud on the international stage again?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): Eleven million Syrians have been either displaced or killed since this action was taken by Assad’s Government. Like a number of other Members on both sides of the House, I met many of the refugees in the camps that British aid is supporting. Those people want to go home. Does the Prime Minister agree that we have two options? We can either send the message that we will not stand up for chemical warfare that kills and maims, or we can close our eyes, pretend that this is not happening, talk about diplomatic solutions that cannot be delivered, and effectively condemn more innocent people to their deaths.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): Sometimes what appear to be simple solutions in relation to matters such as ceasefires do not operate or act on the ground. We have been encouraging ceasefires and humanitarian access. The hon. Lady asks about the longer-term solution. As I have said, this is not just a question for the United Kingdom; it is a question for us and our international allies to work on. We continue to work, and we want to see the Geneva process—the United Nations process—under Staffan de Mistura once again able to come together to find a long-term solution. But it is also necessary for the Syrian regime and its backers to be willing to see a political solution in Syria, and to be willing to come round the table and provide peace and stability for people in that country.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Neil John O'Brien (Conservative, Centre-right): In recent weeks we have heard claims from the Russian Government that the British Government were behind the nerve gas attack in Salisbury. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is typical of Russian propaganda, that it shows that Vladimir Putin is not serious about stopping the use of chemical weapons, and that he must not be given a veto over this country’s foreign policy?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): I sympathise with my hon. Friend’s comments. The Leader of the Opposition says that he wants United Nations support for action, but I believe that even when it supported action in Syria against Daesh, the Leader of the Opposition opposed that.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Prime Minister for her statement, which included a timely reminder that the UK is the second largest bilateral aid donor to the region. Does she agree not only that this action sends a clear message to despots who might consider using chemical weapons in the future, but that by taking out the chemical weapons facilities, we will make sure that more vulnerable innocent citizens in Syria are protected?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: Government Operations
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): This is not about saying that Parliament can never have the opportunity to debate these matters. It is about saying that limited and targeted action can be taken on a legal basis that had been accepted by Governments of all types, over a number of years, and that that can be done in a timely manner, allowing for proper planning and also ensuring we are able to have an impact and be effective in our action.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Kevin Paul Hollinrake (Conservative, Centre-right): Without the support of the Kremlin, it is unlikely that Assad would have been in a position to carry out this and many other atrocities on his own people, but according to a leaked EU report last week, Russia is using its gas supplies to the EU to further its foreign policy ambitions. Does the Prime Minister agree that every nation should seek to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas supplies?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): It is absolutely right that, seven and more years on, we have not been able to find a resolution to this conflict. We retain our determination to do so, but it is not just about the UK’s determination; it is about the determination of a whole variety of parties, including the Syrian regime and its backers.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative, Centre-right): I totally and utterly support my right hon. Friend’s actions. It was right that she took her decision because capitulation allows chemical weapons to be used. The idea that we must come to Parliament and ask first—especially coming from the Leader of the Opposition, who once said that the Falklands conflict was a Tory plot to enrich our business friends—is simply ridiculous. On not taking action—as in 2013, when there was a clear chronological link to the actions that President Putin later took in Crimea and east Ukraine that led to the deaths of tens of thousands more people—does my right hon. Friend agree that inaction has its consequences?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that inaction has its consequences. If people take a particular action such as using chemical weapons but see that there is no reaction or response to that, they assume it is possible to carry on using chemical weapons. It is important that we as an international community have said that we do want to restore the international norm against the use of chemical weapons. We have acted in this way to give that clear message about degrading such a capability in order to alleviate future humanitarian suffering.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that we need to put every effort into finding ways to ensure that the parties come round the table and that we see a political solution in Syria. That is the way to ensure the security and stability of the country such that people can return and get on with their lives in peace.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Atta-Ur-Rehman Chishti (Conservative, Centre-right): One of the darkest stains on the international community’s conscience was the inaction by the EU and the United Nations in preventing the massacre of Muslim men in Srebrenica. International humanitarian and military action was right then. It was right in Bosnia and it is right now to prevent the massacre of innocent people in Syria. We have a moral duty to act.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Nigel Martin Evans (Conservative, Centre-right): Having seen the sickening photographs of suffering children who have been poisoned by their own regime, I am in no doubt whatever that the Prime Minister took the right action. Does she agree that that is one of the reasons why so many global leaders of different political persuasions have backed the humanitarian action that she took?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have had support from around the world—from Europe and elsewhere—and from people of all political persuasions who saw the humanitarian suffering, and the need to act to alleviate it and prevent it in the future.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Simon Richard Clarke (Conservative, Centre-right): In contrast to the hon. Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah), I should like to say that taking action to prevent the gassing of men, women and children will always be done in my name. Does the way in which the Russians and the Syrians are now attempting to cover up their crimes in Syria not speak volumes about what has occurred and the wilful naivety of those who attempt to deny it?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I have set out, attempts are being made to ensure that it is impossible to collect evidence on the ground about what has happened. That speaks volumes about what has been done by the Syrian regime and the position taken by Russia.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, we are the second biggest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid for the Syrian refugees. We will be working with others at the conference that is taking place in Brussels towards the end of this month to ensure that people step up and provide the support that is needed.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): Permanent membership of the Security Council is a privilege, but it is one that comes with huge responsibilities. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, in acting as it has done over this whole issue by blocking peaceful diplomatic solutions and defending the actions of Bashar al-Assad at every stage, the Russian Federation is not only shirking those responsibilities but complicit in the continued horrendous suffering of the Syrian people?
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Russia has the ability within the Security Council, and also in its relationship with the Syrian regime, to stop the use of chemical weapons, but it has not done so.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said, I recognise that, in relation to the wider Syrian conflict, we need to ensure that we press ahead with every effort possible to bring that conflict to an end, but this is not just about the position that the United Kingdom has taken. There are other parties that need to be willing to come to the table and to develop that political solution for the future of Syria, not least the Syrian regime and its backers.
Syria — House of Commons, 2018-04-16
Topic: International Affairs
Gareth Alan Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Prime Minister agree that it is frankly astonishing that over the past week the Leader of the Opposition has spent more time and effort attacking us than attacking President Assad? Does she also agree that it is therefore hardly surprising that some people question whose side he is on—theirs or ours?