Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent conflict in Afrin, Syria.

We are closely following developments in Afrin in north-western Syria. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers are in regular contact with their Turkish counterparts. The Prime Minister also spoke to President Erdogan on 26 January. In all our diplomatic engagement we have urged Turkey to avoid any escalation in violence and to seek to protect civilians, while recognising its legitimate interest in the security of its borders. It remains in our shared interest to focus on achieving a political settlement that ends the war in Syria, and provides stability for all Syrians and the wider region.