Monday 20th May 2013

(11 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Hague of Richmond Portrait Mr Hague
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Yes. I was not implying, in my answer to an earlier question, that there is no regime air activity, but a huge amount of its activity is through shelling and mortars, and if chemical weapons are used, they can be fired from artillery. Air activity is one factor, and that is the complication when it comes to advocating a no-fly zone.

Philip Hollobone Portrait Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
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Are we confident in our assessment of Turkey’s intentions with regard to Syria?

Lord Hague of Richmond Portrait Mr Hague
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Yes, Turkey plays a very important role in all our diplomatic work on Syria. Of course, it is extremely anxious about the extent of the crisis, and is grateful for the deployment of NATO Patriot missiles inside Turkey. We should pay tribute to the Turkish people, who are showing their hospitality to huge numbers of refugees while enduring outrageous bomb attacks, such as the one that we saw a few days ago.