Syria
When asked about the situation in Syria, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson (PMOS) said the government wanted to see a political solution to the crisis in Syria. The PMOS said that if there was an opportunity to work with other partners in the region – partners that the government had not engaged with as much to date, nor had been of the same mind in terms of how to approach the conflict in Syria – then the government should consider them. The priority was to work to deliver a political solution where the Syrian people could live in a prosperous, democratic and peaceful country – something, the PMOS added, President Assad could not deliver.
In respect of British airstrikes in the country, the PMOS said the Prime Minister thought there was a strong case for joining coalition airstrikes against ISIL in Syria, but only on a consensual basis through the House of Commons.
Refugees
When asked about refugees and proposals from aid agencies that the UK should be willing to relocate unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from within Europe, the PMOS said the government’s best efforts were focused on looking at the resettlement of those children directly from refugee camps around Syria.