Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the government of the United States' special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, on 9 December that sanctions against Syria have been a “very effective strategy”.

US Sanctions are a matter for the US government. The UK has imposed sanctions on Syria to end the violent repression of civilians in Syria. These sanctions send a clear message to the regime and its supporters, that we will not stand by whilst the regime continues to commit serious human rights abuses. We continue to impose sanctions on those responsible in order to maintain pressure for a political settlement to end the conflict.