First Minister Humza Yousaf with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which there was no official presence. Photo: Shutterstock/Murat Çetinmuhuradar
Humza Yousaf broke rules requiring UK government officials to attend meetings with foreign leaders five times during the Cop28 climate change summit, a Scottish minister has said.
Mr Yousaf criticized Lord Cameron Chipping Norton's «petty» warning over talks he held with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, at the summit after the Foreign Secretary threatened to withdraw Foreign Office support for Scottish National Party ministers traveling abroad .
The First Minister said Lord Cameron was “effectively going to stop Scotland's international engagement because of one meeting” that was not attended by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
>But Alistair Jack told MPs that the First Minister had ignored the demand during talks with Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, the President of the European Council.
The Scottish Secretary of State said Mr Yusuf also violated this rule by not officially attending the summit talks with Najib Mikati, Prime Minister of Lebanon, and Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, acting Prime Minister of Pakistan.
This was in addition to his controversial meeting over the Gaza crisis with Mr Erdogan, who called Israel a «terrorist state» and Hamas a «liberation group». Mr Yousaf supported a ceasefire, which is not UK Government policy.
Mr Jack said Mr Yousaf had «chosen to meet someone who the UK Government believes should not be met» and warned the First Minister coming up with his own foreign policy had caused confusion and was «damaging to the position Britain in the world.»
He told the House Scottish Affairs Committee that it was «completely unacceptable for the Scottish Government to promote a foreign policy that is contrary to the policy of the United States.» Kingdom Government.»
All UK or devolved government ministers were required to invite an FCDO representative to their meetings with foreign leaders, Mr Jack said, before adding: «It's not difficult.»
«Lord Cameron's approach is really petty.»
Lord Cameron complained that the Scottish Government had reneged on an agreement to provide official «sufficient advance notice» to attend Erdogan's meeting, without specifying the location of the talks.
In a letter to Angus Robertson, Scottish National Foreign Secretary party, he warned that any “further violations” would result in the FCDO withdrawing any “facilitation of meetings or logistical support.”
The Foreign Secretary also threatened to close a number of Scottish Government international offices, which are located in British embassies in key locations including Paris, Berlin and Washington.
His threat of reprisals against Scottish National Party ministers went beyond the warning given to him predecessor James Cleverley in October following another incident involving Mr Yousaf.
Scotland's First Minister banned an FCDO official from attending a meeting he had with the Icelandic Prime Minister during a visit to New York in September.
Speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Cabinet in Dunbar, East Lothian, Mr. Mr Yousaf said: “First of all, let's be clear. — Lord Cameron's approach is really petty and, frankly speaking, wrong.
“Scotland is the part of the UK outside London that has attracted the most foreign direct investment for eight years running, and this is because the Scottish Government's international involvement is valued (and) has an impact.”
“To threaten to cut that, to stop that international engagement – the international engagement of the elected government of Scotland by an unelected Lord – I think is misguided and petty.” » />
But Mr Jack told the Scottish Affairs Committee that Erdogan's meeting was not the first minister's only «irregularity» during Cop28, which took place in the UAE.
The Scottish minister said: «Unless there are to be any or sanctions, all the Scottish Government has to do is invite Foreign Office officials to its meetings.
“That is all we ask, and it falls to me and all other United Kingdom ministers to The kingdoms and everyone else seem capable of doing it.»
He said the Foreign Office was only notified of the meeting with Erdogan «at the very last minute,» «but the first minister had time to get there , so he must have known a little more about the meeting in advance.»
The First Minister's spokesman said: «Many of these meetings were not planned in advance and took place in passing, while others, such as the meeting with the President Turkey, were organized in just a few minutes.
“The First Minister was planning meetings with national governments of other countries at Cop28, to which an FCDO official was invited and attended.”
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