May I make it clear to begin with that the Welsh Government condemns persecution and violence in all their forms, anywhere in the world, and we support efforts to promote reconciliation where there is discord?

Now, turning to the motion before us today, I think it's important to recognise and celebrate the political, economic and cultural contribution made by people of Kurdish heritage to Welsh communities. When people who are born in other parts of the world come to Wales to make Wales their home, we are enriched as a nation. And when those who have adopted Wales as their country as a nation suffer, we suffer with them, and that's why we're extremely concerned about the worsening condition of Imam Sis from Newport. We absolutely recognise the strength of feeling that exists in Welsh communities on the issue we're debating today. He is, as we've heard, on hunger strike to draw attention and to seek improvements to the conditions under which the Kurdish leader Öcalan is being held in a Turkish prison.

Today, I've spoken to the Turkish ambassador of the United Kingdom, as I did in January, where I raised the concerns of Welsh citizens about the worsening condition of Imam Sis and the reasons for his ongoing hunger strike. The ambassador asserted that in March 2018, the European committee for the prevention of torture published a report that highlighted that the conditions under which Öcalan was being held had materially improved since their previous visit in 2013. He also suggested that Öcalan's brother had been to visit him in January this year, and as far as he knows—and I think it's probably worth checking this—Öcalan does have access to lawyers. It's worth noting, however, that the European report suggests that the authors had serious concerns regarding the prisoner's contact with the outside world, and that this has further deteriorated.

The situation of Kurdish communities in Turkey and the neighbouring countries is an extremely complex matter that has deep historical roots as well as having broader significance in the present-day politics of the region. Since the 1980s, there has been a series of unsuccessful attempts to bring about an end to the violence through peace talks, and during this time, more than 40,000 people have lost their lives. We can’t lose sight of this, and our thoughts go to the victims, their families, and the civilians caught up on both sides of the conflict.

Now, we expect the Turkish authorities to ensure that prisoners’ human rights are observed, including access to medical treatment. We support the UK Government’s stance of urging all sides to return to negotiations, and for the peace process to be resumed and to bring about reconciliation and a lasting peace.

The motion under consideration today invites the National Assembly to call on the Welsh Government to write to the European Council on its behalf. As this is the first debate of this nature since I’ve become Minister for international relations, I believe it’s important to emphasise and to underline the fact that foreign policy is an area of policy that is specifically reserved to the UK Government. Therefore, the power to produce such a statement rests with the UK Government. However much Plaid Cymru would like us to have this power, the fact is we do not have it.

The motion does seem somewhat unusual, in that the opposition debate today does not call on the Welsh Government to do anything in the areas in which we have responsibility and in which we have the resources available to take action.