Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to address the political dimensions of the situation in Syria.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) participated in US-led talks in Vienna on 30 October. We hope that this meeting is the start of an international process, alongside talks between the Syrian parties, which will lead to transition away from Assad in line with the Geneva communiqué of 2012. Despite the clear differences between the meeting participants, progress was made in a number of areas, most importantly that diplomatic efforts to end the war must accelerate and that the UN will be asked to launch a new political process between the Syrian parties. The UK is also a staunch supporter of the Syrian National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces, and we will continue to work with them in pursuit of a political solution to the conflict. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I met the President of the civilian opposition National Coalition, Khaled Khoja, in London 4 November. We discussed the political process and the importance of the National Coalition continuing its important work to reach out to other moderate political and armed groups in Syria in order to develop a common platform for engaging in negotiations.