Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the decision by the US to withdraw all of its ground troops from Syria, what representations he received from US officials prior to the US President's decision to withdraw; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the US withdrawal on the numbers of British ground forces operating in northern Syria.

The Foreign Secretary spoke with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on 19 December with regard to President Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria. Senior officials have been in close contact with their US counterparts on the implementation of this decision, including on the implications for Coalition military action in Syria.