Syria

Lord Polak Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I do not think anybody is getting carried away with optimism at the moment. The noble Lord is absolutely right to remind us just how precarious this situation is. We proceed with some hope, given where we have been, but it is always worth being reminded just how fragile this is and of the dangers that remain as we go forward.

[Lord Polak (Con)]

My Lords, I totally agree with my noble friend Lord Ahmad’s words. This is fragile but, as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said, there is potential, for the first time in decades. In their Statement, the Government are rightly looking for stronger moral leadership characteristics. They say that

“anyone seeking a role in governing Syria should demonstrate a commitment to the protection of human rights, unfettered access for humanitarian aid and the safe destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles, and combat terrorism and extremism”.

I hope that person exists in Syria—or anywhere else, for that matter—but, as my right honourable friend the shadow Foreign Secretary asked on Monday, how confident is the Minister that the chemical stockpiles will be destroyed, for the benefit of the whole region?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

Confidence is a very difficult thing to measure in situations such as this, but perhaps the best thing to do is to say that we are mindful of the dangers that the noble Lord outlines. It is still right for this Government to have clarity and high ambition for the people of Syria, because they have suffered so much and desperately need a Government with the qualities that we outlined in the Statement.