Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2016 to Question 57778, whether there are any circumstances in which it is Government policy to re-establish diplomatic links with the Assad regime.

The British Government has not severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Since the withdrawal of our staff from the British Embassy in Damascus in February 2012 and the closure of the Syrian Embassy in London in August 2012, our dealings have been minimal and only in relation to essential consular or administration issues. We believe the Asad regime has lost all legitimacy due to its atrocities against the Syrian people and that a sustainable political settlement in Syria requires a political transition.