PLEASE NOTE "THE ANDREW MARR SHOW" MUST BE CREDITED IF ANY PART OF THIS TRANSCRIPT IS USED Mariella Frostrup interviewed Foreign minister Alistair Burt. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: And now I'm joined by the Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for the Middle East and Afghanistan, Alistair Burt. Well there's lots to talk about this morning, Alistair, but let's start with who exactly is in charge of the government. I mean I know we live in a technological age, but with photographs in the Mail on Sunday of the Prime Minister playing tennis in Tuscany and we've got pictures of George Osborne, the Chancellor, visiting theme parks in California, there is a sense of worry about who's in charge of the £150 billion being wiped off the British share market. ALISTAIR BURT: Well the Prime Minister is always in charge wherever he might be. And you're right, and your two studio guests earlier were right, in saying that technologically you can be in contact anywhere. And, remember, these people - prime ministers, presidents, chancellors - they're in different countries all the time anyway and keeping in contact. And the … MARIELLA FROSTRUP: (over) But it doesn't look good, does it? I mean isn't … ALISTAIR BURT: (over) … and the Foreign Secretary is here in the UK. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: There is a sense at the moment, I think, that people - I mean I'm a member of the general public - you feel like you need reassurance. You know the markets are in turmoil. Isn't there a case for the Prime Minister if not coming home to reassure people, then at least making an appearance? You know it's not a silly season scare, is it? This is a real crisis. ALISTAIR BURT: No, it's not a silly season scare. But again, as your guests said, there is always a call from the opposition to say where are the government leaders. The Prime Minister is in charge. He's in constant contact. So is the Foreign Secretary. That is the way the world works these days. There are plenty of statements being made about what needs to happen and what reassurance can be given. It is a serious issue to say that people aren't in touch. And John Prescott, I was interested to hear him say … I mean dear John, if he thought he was in charge just because Alistair Campbell and Tony Blair were out of the country, I think he was the only one who did. It's a collective thing all the time … MARIELLA FROSTRUP: (over) Well he took a bit of time off for croquet, didn't he? ALISTAIR BURT: … the Prime Minister is always in charge. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: So what is happening then on an international level? I mean we've heard about phone calls between the key players, between Sarkozy and the Prime Minister and President Obama, Angela Merkel, but can we expect to see them having face to face meetings in the next few days? Can we expect perhaps a G7 summit followed by a G8? ALISTAIR BURT: Well it's possible, and if there is to be a face to face summit, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will certainly be there. But I think two or three points are important. Firstly, it is important that the Eurozone countries deliver on the agreement they made in July in terms of the bailout in relation to Greece. They've got to deliver on what they've said. Secondly, individual countries have got to show that they've got the same sense of commitment to the measures necessary in their own countries to reduce their debt and restructure their economies. That's got to be done by them. And thirdly, we do all recognise this is something that does have an effect on us even though we have been in a different position - largely because of what steps we took when we became the government last year. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: But that's the problem, isn't it - that we do keep talking about it as an us and them situation? We've had Britain described as a "safe haven" as though we're somehow a bystander in all this, but that's not the case. What happens in the US, what happens in the Eurozone has a direct impact on people in the UK. ALISTAIR BURT: Yes it does, there's no doubt about that, but our ability to influence that is limited; it has to be done with international action. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: You see that makes me feel nervous as soon as you say "limited", you know. ALISTAIR BURT: Well I think we have to recognise that what happens in other countries is very much a matter for them. What happens in Eurozone countries, these are decisions that they have to take, just as the United States has to take. But again I think it is important: when we came into office, Standard and Poor's - the credit rating agency which has just issued its position on the United States - they had the United Kingdom at the time, in the last election, on what they called a "negative outlook" for its credit rating. They were thinking of dropping it. By October last year, when we had introduced the Budget and said clearly what we were going to do, they removed that negative outlook and said our rating was absolutely fine because we'd taken the measures we needed to take. Now we all have to work together to make sure we get out of this and it is important that we do, but I think it is worth thinking about where we were and how we are placed now. It is going to be difficult - there is no magic bullet, it will be hard - but we must stick to the course we've set. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: I think the public probably feel they're working pretty hard towards that goal … ALISTAIR BURT: (over) And they do. They are ab… MARIELLA FROSTRUP: (over) … and it doesn't help when they see pictures of the leaders of the party, of the government you know enjoying themselves in far-flung places. But let's turn now to Afghanistan and this dreadful helicopter crash … ALISTAIR BURT: Yes. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: … which is being called in many of the papers today a sort of shoot down by the Taliban rather than a crash. Is that the case? And if so, this must be really deeply alarming because it didn't happen in the south of the country, the zone where we're really directly fighting in. It happened in Wardak, which is not far from Kabul. ALISTAIR BURT: It's been a tragedy. At the moment the investigation isn't complete, it's not possible to say precisely what happened. But however it happened, the loss of so many forces is a matter of deep regret. The Prime Minister issued a statement yesterday about this. It's terribly sad. It shows the commitment that both the United States and ourselves and the Afghan community and the Afghan soldiers are making to try and make their country safer and secure for the future, and we will go on. The determination of both the United States, ourselves and the people of Afghanistan to make their country secure for the future is undiminished by an incident like that and it reminds us of the cost. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: You say "we'll go on", but don't you think that it could be the final straw, particularly for the American public who are already desperately weary of this war - this sort of sense of the futility of it and here's something like this which could well be a Taliban victory, to so speak, very, very close to Kabul, the capital? ALISTAIR BURT: It is very hard and its impact shouldn't be diminished, but at the same time there are other things going on that show what progress is being made. Provinces are still moving to transition. That is where the Afghan security forces take control for their own areas. That process is proceeding. In Helmand where our forces have been so extraordinarily committed, that too is moving towards a transition where Afghan forces are taking over their own security. There's work going on on political reconciliation, there's work going on in terms of constitutional development. There will be setbacks, there will be incidents such as the ones we've seen, but it is important to balance it with the other good work that's being done. And that's why I think both ourselves, the United States are committed to helping the Afghan people beyond 2015 when our combat troops will have left because there's so much more development to be engaged in. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: If you see Afghanistan as a story that's moving forward, another open-ended conflict (or so it seems at the moment) is of course what's going on in Libya, and that seems very much to be in a state of "stalemate" as it was described by the Chairman of the Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Ottaway last week. Do you see it as a stalemate? ALISTAIR BURT: No, we see steady incremental progress being made all the time the Gaddafi regime is being degraded - politically, diplomatically, economically - through the impact of so many nations working together. I've been in both Abu Dhabi and Istanbul for the two contact group meetings with the Foreign Secretary recently to see the commitment of other nations who know that Gaddafi was a bad example of Arab government, of North African government, and they want to see him gone. They want to see civilians protected, which is the UN resolution, and our determination to do that is very clear. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: (over) But what can we do to see him … What can we do to see him gone? I mean everyone wants to see him gone, it seems, yet he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. He's still you know ensconced in Tripoli. What further initiatives can we have? I mean for example we've recognised the transitional government now. ALISTAIR BURT: Yes. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: Is it possible to unfree some of Libya's assets in order to fund them, to buy arms, to …? I mean it seems that something has to move that situation forward. ALISTAIR BURT: It's a question of being patient and persistent. The work will go on to ensure that the Gaddafi regime is less likely to attack its own people, which it's still doing. Remember that could stop tomorrow if Gaddafi would do that. Economically the work to support the National Transitional Council will go on - there are different mechanisms for funding - and perhaps the recognition will make some of that easier, though there's a legal question about unfreezing assets. And of course the UN is involved. There is a special envoy being created by the Secretary General in order to seek negotiation to see if it's possible to get a political settlement, but it can only come when there is a ceasefire, when Gaddafi's troops stop killing, and of course he does have to be out of the way. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: And just finally, it's not just Gaddafi's troops who are killing. There's news this morning that Syria … President Assad's troops are moving on another town in Syria. I mean with Syria, we seem to be completely incapacitated, unable to do anything but giving warnings. I know Ban Ki-moon has finally spoken to Assad. What do you see happening there? ALISTAIR BURT: Syria is appalling and it is deeply frustrating to have to watch what is going on, but again things are happening there. We've been at the forefront in terms of EU sanctions on key figures who have been responsible for the violence; we helped to get the UN presidential statement last week. But interestingly over the last 24 hours, a statement by the GCC, the Gulf countries, is the first time a group of Arab nations have said this really has to stop. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: And just briefly, could Syria be slipping into civil war? ALISTAIR BURT: It's difficult to say. What is clear is the regime is intent in killing its own people and that must stop. MARIELLA FROSTRUP: Alistair Burt, thank you very much indeed. INTERVIEW ENDS
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