Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Syrian opposition to encourage their participation in the Geneva peace talks; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are in regular contact with the Syrian opposition. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Riad Hijab, Chair of the Syrian Higher Negotiations Commission (HNC) on 29 January, expressing his support for the HNC and highlighting the importance of their participation in negotiations. Our Special Envoy for Syria and his team are currently in Geneva alongside other international partners, supporting the opposition and engaging with the UN.