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Prime Minister's question asked in the House of Commons, by Lord Hain (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 3 September 2014 on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Engagements

Question

Is not the truth that ISIL will not be beaten without air strikes in Syria as well, and that means engaging with the Assad regime and Iran—however unpalatable—as well as with the

Saudis? Perhaps that is also a route to resolving the bitter and dangerous Shi’a-Sunni conflicts in the region, because ultimately ISIS poses a bigger threat to nations in the region than it does to us.

Answer

I will make two points to the right hon. Gentleman, whose views on this matter I respect. First, I would argue that Assad’s brutality has been one of the things that has helped generate the appalling regime that ISIS represents. Secondly, what we want to see—we are consistent across the piece on this—is democratic Governments that are pluralistic and represent all their people. We want to see that in Iraq, which is why we support Prime Minister al-Abadi in his attempts to build an inclusive Government, and we should support attempts in Syria to have a democratic transition to a regime that can represent everyone in Syria.

Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
585 c281 
Session
2014-15
Oral question type
Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Armed conflict Iraq Syria Islamic State
Link
View this Prime Minister's question on www.publications.parliament.uk