Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the timetable is for the (a) re-establishment of full diplomatic relations with the Government of Syria including (b) re-opening the British Embassy in Damascus.

The British Government has not severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Since the withdrawal of our staff from the British Embassy in Damascus in February 2012 and the closure of the Syrian Embassy in London in August 2012, our dealings have been minimal and only in relation to essential consular or administration issues. There is no plan to change this. The UK believes the Asad regime has lost its legitimacy due to its atrocities against the Syrian people and that a sustainable political settlement in Syria ultimately requires a political transition away from the current regime.