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» Monday, July 24, 2006

Prime Minister’s speech/Middle East

Asked for further information about the Prime Minister's speech that he had mentioned in today's press conference, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that the genesis of it was the G8 statement and the analysis it presented of how the problem arose, the need to address that analysis, and the proposal for a stabilisation force, which was now gaining genuine momentum. We believed that that could form part of an overall consensus about how to move this forward, and an important part of that was Dr. Rice's visit to the region today, as well as the meeting of foreign Ministers in the Core Group on Wednesday in Rome in order to get a consensus about how to move things forward. The PMOS said that if people looked at the G8 statement, it was very detailed on what needed to happen in terms of moving forward on prisoner issues and kidnapped soldier issues, as well as the political track as well. It therefore did form a rich agenda to explore.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Lebanon

Asked if the Government was now in favour of a ceasefire in Lebanon, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said as the Prime Minister said in his G8 statement to the Commons last Tuesday, quote: "of course we all want violence to stop and stop immediately, but we recognise that the only realistic way to achieve such a ceasefire is to address the underlying reasons why this violence has broken out." That has been the core element of the Government's approach since the beginning of the conflict. It was also the core element of the G8 statement issued last Monday afternoon which said that Israel must show utter restraint. Equally the attacks on Israel must also stop. All the way through we had wanted both sides to stop.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (5)

Trade

Asked for a reaction on the collapse of trade talks in Geneva, the PMOS replied that our view remained that we wanted to see progress made, but we recognised that it was difficult. Whilst we wanted to see progress made, the PMOS said that he was not sure that it was wise to get into saying who we believed was responsible. Rather, it was better to focus on whether there was any chance of making progress.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

Prime Minister’s lecture

Asked further about the Prime Minister's lecture on Wednesday, the PMOS said that it was the second speech in the "Our Nation's Future" set, and it would focus on public services, and delivery. In terms of the GPs being on pharmaceutical premises, we wanted more flexibility in the way in which GPs and other services were delivered, but discussions on it were still ongoing.

Briefing took place at 16:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)

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» Monday, July 24, 2006

Prime Minister’s speech/Middle East

Lebanon

Trade

Prime Minister’s lecture

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