The UK remains committed to finding a political settlement to the Syria crisis. President Assad is the greatest obstacle to such a settlement. He refused to engage substantively in the UN Security Council-backed Geneva II peace talks which aimed to establish a transitional government agreed by both sides, and lay the foundations for free and fair elections. Instead, his regime\u2019s brutality continues to fuel the conflict, stoke sectarian tensions, and create conditions conducive to the growth of terrorism. President Assad is not a credible partner for solving this crisis.<\/p>
The regime\u2019s recent Presidential \u201celections\u201d do not change this. They were a parody of democracy, taking place against the backdrop of horrendous violence, and disenfranchising the many millions of Syrians who have been forced to flee their homes. The Arab League, the UN, the US, Turkey and the EU all rejected these so-called elections.<\/p>
We continue to call on the Assad regime to make a clear commitment to ending the violence and engaging in substantive talks with the opposition under the Geneva framework. The UK will continue to support a strong and more inclusive opposition and work to increase pressure on the regime in order to create conditions for a political settlement that can end the conflict and address the terrorist threat.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3839", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Warsi"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Warsi"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-07-22T14:39:08.3561931Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-07-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Syria"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government, in the light of President Assad\u2019s re-election by the Syrian people, whether they intend to amend their stance on the Presidency of Syria as described in the answer by Baroness Warsi on 1 July (WA 253); and, if not, why not.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/950", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Stoddart of Swindon"} ], "uin" : "HL956"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62524", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62524/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Assad regime is the primary cause of terrorism in Syria, not the solution to it. The most effective way to tackle terrorism in Syria is to support the moderate opposition in its efforts to protect the Syrian people from the twin threats of tyranny and terrorism. The only sustainable solution to the crisis in Syria is to reach a negotiated political transition by the mutual consent of both sides \u2013 this is the principle in the Geneva Communiqué as endorsed by the UN Security Council.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3839", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Warsi"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Warsi"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-07-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-07-01T12:44:26.3948815Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-06-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Syria"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Warsi on 17 June (WS 586\u201388), whether they plan to abandon their demand that President Assad step down and to urge co-operation between his government and the official opposition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham and other Islamic terrorist groups in Syria.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/950", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Stoddart of Swindon"} ], "uin" : "HL453"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }