Syria: Armed Conflict

(asked on 8th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Turkish government on (a) the conflict in Northern Syria and (b) that country's policy towards YPG forces.


Answered by
Wendy Morton Portrait
Wendy Morton
This question was answered on 15th July 2020

Ministers and officials regularly discuss the situation in northern Syria with the Government of Turkey. The Foreign Secretary discussed international efforts on Syria with Turkish Foreign Minister Çavusoglu during in his visit to London on 8 July.

We also regularly discuss our differences of views on the YPG, which is an important part of the Syrian Democratic Forces. We acknowledge Turkey's security concerns regarding the PKK. The UK sees a clear distinction between the PKK, which we proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001, and the SDF, the partner force of the Global Coalition against Daesh in Syria. We pay tribute to the courage and sacrifices made by SDF in the fight against Daesh. We continue to urge the Kurdish elements of the SDF to distance themselves from the PKK and its terrorist activity. The UK also calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to respect international law.

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