Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Syrian counterpart on the murder of Mahmood Ghassa; and what steps he is taking to support the protection of religious minorities in Syria.

The UK is engaging privately and regularly with the Syrian government at every level. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians. I raised this with Syrian Foreign Minister Al Shaibani when we met in March and pressed the Syrian Government to take concrete action following the horrific violence committed against the Alawite community. The UK Special Representative for Syria visited Damascus last week to discuss developments.