Syria: Military Intervention

(asked on 16th October 2019) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) diplomatic and (b) economic steps the Government plans to take to encourage the Turkish Government to stop its military incursion in territory in Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces; and if the Government will suspend existing licences for arms exports to Turkey until that military incursion is ended.


Answered by
Andrew Murrison Portrait
Andrew Murrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 25th October 2019

​The UK has repeatedly called on Turkey to end its military action in north-east Syria. The Prime Minister made this clear when he spoke to President Erdogan on 12 October and 20 October. We have also, with European partners, raised this issue at the UN Security Council.

As the Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons on 15 October, the Government takes its arms export control responsibilities very seriously and keeps our defence exports to Turkey under careful and continual review. No further export licences to Turkey for items which might be used in military operations in Syria will be granted while we conduct that review.

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