Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove the remaining sanctions in relation to Syria, in the light of US plans to do so.

In April, the UK lifted sanctions on some sectors, including trade, energy production, transport and finance, and de-listed 12 government and media entities, including the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior. This followed the removal of asset freezes on 24 entities, including the Central Bank of Syria. The majority of remaining sanctions are on individuals and entities linked to the former regime. Sanctions on military goods and technology; chemical weapons; and those related to gold, precious metals, diamonds, luxury goods, and the interception and monitoring services also remain in place. We will keep our sanctions regime under review.