A SENIOR Labour minister has responded to the Scottish Government's decision to suspend future meetings with Israeli officials.
The decision came after criticism faced by Scottish External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson, who apologised after he met Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky on August 8 to discuss issues such as energy and culture.
The Scottish Government then suspended meetings with Israel, with Robertson (below) saying while he communicated the need for a ceasefire the discussion of other issues was “not appropriate”.
However, the UK Government announced last month that it had reopened trade negotiations with Israel.
But amid Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and calls to divest and halt arms sales to Israel, the move has been condemned by campaigners as “rewarding Israel for war crimes”.
Speaking to the PA news agency during a visit to Glengoyne distillery in Scotland (below), Trade and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it is for the Scottish Government to decide whether meetings with Israeli officials are appropriate.
However, he also added: “I think it is still important to recognise as a UK Government that we want an immediate ceasefire.
“But of course, you’ve still got to be engaged with all partners within that very difficult conflict we still have.
“I, for instance, have spoken to my counterpart the Israeli trade minister because we’ve inherited a process in terms of improving the trade relationship that we have with Israel. I think it’s still important to recognise that.
"It’s a difficult part of the world but we’ve got to be engaged and of course there are issues there around the threat that Iran poses that we have to recognise, and we’ve got to be part of that discussion.”
Asked if he expressed the need for a ceasefire at these meetings, he said: “We do that as a Government in all avenues.”
Reynolds then appeared to suggest that Israel’s brutal actions during the war on Gaza and its impact on civilians isn’t “specifically” discussed at UK trade meetings.
“Of course, when I am doing the trade issues the meetings tend to be focused specifically on that, but we have across the whole of the Government made clear that we want to see an immediate end to that conflict and an end to the human suffering,” he said.
