Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the governments of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran regarding the containment and eventual defeat of ISIL.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), co-hosted a Coalition Small Group meeting on 22 January with US Secretary of State, John Kerry. Twenty-one key members of the global coalition, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, met in London to review and discuss our efforts to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

We discussed the situation in Iraq and five key areas for defeating ISIL: the military campaign; countering ISIL financing; foreign fighters; strategic communications; and humanitarian assistance.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are each making significant contributions to the coalition and we will continue to work closely with them.

Although Iran is not a member of the global coalition, it has an important role to play in the region and we have an ongoing dialogue on regional issues as part of our engagement via non-resident Chargé d’Affaires. Iran, and the whole region, needs to play a constructive role to help the new Iraqi government create an inclusive political solution for all Iraqis.