To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Governments of the Soviet republics in respect of the application of the principles of human rights to their proposals on citizenship rights.

On 31 December we in concert with our EC partners, recognised eight former Soviet republics as independent states, after they had provided satisfactory assurances inter alia on human rights including citizenship rights. We regularly raised human rights issues with the former Soviet authorities. We shall continue to do so with the governments of these newly independent states, making clear that their approach in this respect will influence the development of our bilateral relations.