Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the United Nations on the supervision of Syrian presidential elections in 2021.

The UK continues to raise the issue of Syrian presidential elections with the UN, including at the Security Council and with Special Envoy Geir Pedersen. We also continue to call on those with influence on the regime to ensure they will not hold elections that will damage and delay progress towards a political resolution to the conflict. UN Security Council Resolution 2254 is clear that all Syrians, including the diaspora, must be able to participate in free and fair elections and that a new constitution must be agreed before free and fair elections can take place. Elections that do not meet these requirements would deny millions of Syrians the opportunity to take part in deciding the future of Syria and impede the political process.