Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) Turkish and (b) other international counterparts on reopening the sole Bab al Hawa border crossing into Syria.

The Prime Minister spoke to President Erdogan on 7 February, noting the humanitarian situation over the border in north west Syria, where Turkey plays an important coordinating role. Furthermore the UK welcomes the UN-brokered agreement on 13 February to open additional border crossings into north west Syria for an initial period of 3 months. This will enable more aid to reach communities affected by the devastating earthquake. It is vital that the UN is able to deliver aid swiftly via these border crossings and we will be working with the UN to verify that this is happening.