Syria

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Work and Pensions – in the House of Commons at 3:44 pm on 13 January 2014.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of William Hague William Hague The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 3:44, 13 January 2014

I go back to what I have referred to before. What we are seeking—the basis of the invitation letter from the UN Secretary-General—is a transitional governing body formed by mutual consent. Such a thing, drawn from regime and opposition, would naturally guard against the extremes, as each side would have to agree to the representatives of the other. That would not be a recipe for Assad to continue, as I mentioned earlier, or for the al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists to have a role. Again, that shows the importance of our sticking to this principle and this formula in the forthcoming negotiations.