Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the political and humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta, Syria does not further escalate.

​As I said in a statement on 20 February, the situation on the ground in Syria, particularly in Eastern Ghouta, is dire. We have called on the regime and its backers to cease their campaign of violence, to protect civilians and allow rapid and unhindered humanitarian access. We have raised our concerns at the International Syria Support Group and in the UN Security Council. As the UN has, we call on all parties to protect civilians and allow for safe, sustained and unimpeded access to all those in need in Syria. We also supported UN Security Council resolution 2401, unanimously adopted on 24 February which calls for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for delivery of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations which are urgently needed across Syria, but particularly in Eastern Ghouta. Those with influence over the regime must now ensure the ceasefire is implemented in full.