Asked by: Maria Caulfield (Conservative - Lewes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on preventing the planned (a) invasion of Rojava and (b) attacks against the Kurds in northern Syria.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I have had a number of recent conversations with my Turkish counterparts over the conflict in Syria, as have my ministerial colleagues and the Prime Minister. While we recognise Turkey's security interests, we are closely monitoring the situation in North East Syria and are concerned about the humanitarian impact of a potential Turkish military operation, as well as the impact on the campaign against Daesh.
Our priority is to end the conflict in Syria through a negotiated political settlement: we believe only an inclusive, non-sectarian government can unite the country and protect the rights of all Syrians.
Dec. 05 2018
Source Page: Inspection report on country of origin information, May 2018Found: See Isyandan in aya: Krdistan ozgrlk hareketi by Joost Jongerden, Ahm et Hamdi Akkaya, Bahar imek; Rojava
Found: Rojava
Oral Evidence May. 15 2018
Inquiry: Transcripts - Backbench Business CommitteeFound: If it was not for the Kurds in Afrin and that whole region—Rojava, Cizre and so on—ISIS would never
Mentions:
1: Emily Thornberry (LAB - Islington South and Finsbury) Finally, as the violence escalates in Idlib and Rojava, what preparations are the Government making for - Speech Link
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) diplomatic, (2) military, and (3) humanitarian, training and support they have provided to the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, also known as Rojava, in the last two years.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We maintain political and diplomatic contact with a number of Kurdish groups to influence their policy and work towards a political solution to the conflict, encouraging commitment to pluralism and pressing for cooperation with the wider Syrian opposition. We have used our occasional contact with the PYD to express concern over reports of human rights abuses by its associated security forces and over links with both the Assad regime and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The UK does not provide any direct assistance to the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (YPG) or the Democratic Union Party (PYD). As part of the Global Coalition, we have provided military support including airstrikes to the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the YPG are a contingent part, in the campaign to remove Daesh from Eastern Syria. We have also provided humanitarian and limited stabilisation support to address the immediate needs of the local population in Eastern Syria.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, also known as Rojava, is represented at future peace talks on Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is Kurdish representation at Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva through the Kurdish National Council, which has a role within the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission. Invitations for any other groups to the Geneva peace negotiations are a matter for the UN Special Envoy for Syria. The UN Envoy has involved Kurdish and other minority groups in civil society discussions alongside formal negotiations in Geneva.
We maintain that any political settlement must be inclusive. All Syrian constituencies must ultimately be represented in discussion on Syria's future – this is a key principle in the 2012 Geneva communique and UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
Written Evidence Dec. 06 2017
Inquiry: Kurdish aspirations and the interests of the UK inquiryFound: Committee The DBK is a self-proclaimed governing body of the Kurdish region in Syria, known as Rojava
Written Evidence Dec. 06 2017
Inquiry: Kurdish aspirations and the interests of the UK inquiryFound: the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV DEM) was established to organise the institutions of Rojava