Syria: Aleppo Ceasefire

Debate between Lord Gordon of Strathblane and Baroness Goldie

Thursday 15th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie]

I say to my noble friend that this anticipates a point further down the line. Any attempt to broker peace will be facilitated by the United Nations with all the members of the global coalition. We very much hope that the UN special envoy, Staffan de Mistura, whose endeavours were interrupted by the breach of the earlier cessation of hostilities, will feel that the time is approaching when he might resume his role. I am sure there will be diplomatic discussions about trying to ensure that that happens.

[Lord Gordon of Strathblane (Lab)]

I apologise for reverting to the point made earlier by the noble Lord, Lord Oates, but, whatever we think about President Assad, surely it is only proper that it is the Syrian people who decide who is going to run their country, not Saudi Arabia, America, Iran or Russia.

[Baroness Goldie]

The ultimate objective for Syria is, we hope, that there will be a restoration of stability and peace and there will be respect for freedoms and democracy, and that anticipates that the Syrian people will have a significant say in what kind of regime they seek. The United Kingdom Government have made clear that, in these difficult, sensitive and fractious times, the presence of Assad is not conducive to those objectives.

Syria

Debate between Lord Gordon of Strathblane and Baroness Goldie

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie]

We have as a Government been active in our endeavours to support the provision of humanitarian aid. The noble Lord will be aware of the very extensive resource that has been allocated to that by the United Kingdom Government. We are in a sensitive and delicate period. The unanimous hope is that the ceasefire will work and continue. That is necessary to allow some form of planning for what might then be possible. I say to the noble Lord that an important component of the agreement achieved between the United States and Russia is that humanitarian access is provided, and the regime in particular has been forcefully reminded of the need to co-operate in that endeavour.

[Lord Gordon of Strathblane (Lab)]

My Lords, with regard to the ultimate political solution that the Minister referred to in her first Answer, it is only appropriate to regard the leadership and governance of Syria as a matter entirely for the Syrian people, and therefore to ignore the calls for President Assad’s removal as a precondition for negotiations that one occasionally hears from Saudi Arabia, and indeed to some extent the United States, just as one hears opposition to that from Iran and the Soviet Union.