British Embassy in Damascus

Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie]

To ask His Majesty’s Government when they intend to re-open the British Embassy in Damascus.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)]

My Lords, we are regular visitors to Damascus through the special representative for Syria and recent visits from the Minister for the Middle East and the former Foreign Secretary. We continue to engage with the new Syrian Government and have committed to supporting them in delivering a more stable, free and prosperous future for the Syrian people. We are exploring options for a more permanent presence in Damascus and how we can engage further.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that response, and I note the positive tone. She will be aware the President Trump has already met twice with President al-Sharaa, most recently at the White House last month. She will also know that Germany, Italy and Spain are among 12 European countries that have already re-established diplomatic relations, but that none of the permanent members of the UN Security Council has done so. May I suggest it would be a way of further enhancing the Prime Minister’s reputation on the international stage if he were to do so on behalf of his Government, and to encourage the other permanent members to do so also?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I take my noble friend’s question as a note of encouragement to the Government to accelerate progress towards establishing a presence in Damascus and to go further than we already have in the relationship we are building with the new Government in Syria. I also thank him for his kind comments about the Prime Minister’s standing on the world stage; I think he is right.