Syria

Baroness Cox Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Cox]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of recent developments in Syria.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Anelay of St Johns) (Con)]

My Lords, the war in Syria started six years ago. Today, violence continues and the Syrian people are suffering. We urge those with influence on the regime to secure an end to the military campaign and ensure unhindered humanitarian access. We welcome the resumed UN-led talks. Only a political settlement will end the war. We remain at the forefront of international action to help the Syrian people and hold those responsible for atrocities to account.

[Baroness Cox (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply. Is she aware that the Syrian Government have brought significant benefits to the people of Syria, including the expulsion of ISIS from the iconic city of Palmyra, recovering control from ISIS over Aleppo’s water supplies and displacing ISIS from numerous other strategic locations? Is she further aware that the UK Government’s support for Islamist-related armed militants is hampering the fight against ISIS? Will she reveal the extent and the nature of the support which the United Kingdom is providing to these Islamist armed militants and the cost to the taxpayer of this very dubious policy?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we certainly do not see the Assad regime as bringing benefits to the Syrian people. This is a regime which has been found by a series of independent United Nations reports to have used chemical weapons and committed war crimes against the Syrian people. The regime is currently denying humanitarian aid to 1.4 million Syrians living in siege-like conditions. The UN has found it responsible for bombing an aid convoy last September. It simply is not true to say that all armed opposition are terrorists. The opposition fighters in rural Damascus, for example, are not extremists, nor were the vast majority of fighters in eastern Aleppo. The UK provides political and practical support to the moderate opposition. This has included communications and medical equipment, as well as equipment—as the House will understand—to protect against chemical weapons attacks. We do not provide weapons to anyone in Syria. The recipients of UK assistance are always rigorously and continually assessed to ensure that they are not involved in any extremist activity or human rights abuses.