Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench) on Tuesday, 29 October 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 12 November 2019. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Monday, 4 November 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Syria: Ceasefires

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the agreed ceasefire in north-east Syria is being respected by all armed groups; and what proposals they have for making it (1) effective, and (2) permanent.

Answer: We welcome the fact that the ceasefire in north-east Syria appears to be broadly holding and that Turkey has confirmed it has no plans for a further offensive. Implementation of the ceasefire is for the parties directly involved but we have made clear our expectation that all parties abide by the agreed ceasefire and by their obligations under international humanitarian law. We been consistently clear with Turkey on our opposition to its military action in north-east Syria – the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Minister for the Middle East and North Africa have each made this clear to their Turkish counterparts, most recently on 26 October.

Secondary information