Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what preparations his Department is making to impose sanctions on Russian individuals and organisations implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.

The UK is committed to ensuring that those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria are held to account. There are already robust EU sanctions in place to limit the Asad regime's ability to wage war on the Syrian civilian population and pressure the regime, and their backers, to cease hostilities and engage meaningfully with the UN-led political process. However, at present, no Russian individuals or entities are sanctioned under EU Syria sanctions. We have repeatedly condemned Russian support for the Asad regime which has prolonged the conflict and worsened the suffering of the Syrian people.