[Mr. Martin Caton in the Chair] — Middle East

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 9:30 am on 24 June 2009.

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Photo of Richard Spring Richard Spring Vice-Chair, Conservative Party 9:30, 24 June 2009

It is a pleasure to have you presiding over our proceedings, Mr. Caton. I welcome the Minister to his new role and wish him well in it. I am reminded of Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again", because we come together every few years. I look forward to what he has to say on this important subject.

The middle east may not be our near geographical neighbour, but we cannot escape from our involvement in the region. That can be seen throughout history with the magnificent crusader castles across Syria, our support for the Arab revolts against the Ottoman empire, the founding of the state of Israel, and the construction and subsequent loss of the Suez canal. The list could go on.

This is not a moment to discuss the merits of the recent invasion of Iraq. Suffice it to say that it impaired a number of our relationships in the region. Today, violence on the streets of Gaza inflames passions on the streets of our country. Whether we like it or not, we cannot escape from the realities of our past and current involvement. In that, we are blessed with outstanding diplomats, whose knowledge of the middle east is unsurpassed. When their judgments have been ignored, it has led inevitably to difficulties for us.

In the past few weeks, we have seen extraordinarily successful and peaceful elections in Lebanon, an inspiring speech in Cairo by President Obama, post-election turmoil in Iran and Bibi Netanyahu implicitly acknowledging the problems brought by the growth of settlements.

I should like to concentrate on Syria, which has been remarkably stable in the past decade under a new and younger President. At no stage in the long history of the region could Syria sensibly have been ignored. I declare an interest as a director of the British Syrian Society, which seeks at all levels to build up our bilateral relationship. I pay particular tribute to two individuals who dedicated themselves so successfully to that task, Dr. Fawaz Akhras and the late Sir David Gore-Booth, who was a distinguished diplomat.

Having spoken out against the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Syria strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In expressing the notion of an axis of evil, the United States took a hostile view of Syria. It was widely believed by Syrians that America would invade them, too. There is no doubt that jihadis crossed from Syria into Iraq across a long border that is difficult to police. It was a source of fury that some of those individuals may have been directly or indirectly responsible for the loss of life among coalition forces.

A second source of criticism of Syria stems from the civil war in Lebanon, after which Syrian military forces were invited to help restore order. In time, their role became resented by key players in Lebanese political life, who believed that there was inordinate interference in the domestic, political and economic life of the country.

A third source of criticism is the ties between Syria and Iran, which rose initially out of a shared fear and dislike of Saddam Hussein. Although they may have close trading and economic ties, Iran is a theocratic state, whereas Syria is constitutionally secular. Different religious groupings co-exist extremely well in Syria and Islamic fundamentalism is simply not tolerated. A final source of criticism is Syria's support— shared by Iran—of Hezbollah and Hamas, with their terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens.

The central thesis of my remarks is that those important issues must be put in context or updated to reflect current realities in a continuing process of mutual exploration between our two countries.

A chunk of Syria—the Golan heights—is illegally occupied by Israel. The area holds no strategic value for Israel. In 2000, the late President Hafez Assad came close to a deal with Israel that included the return of the Golan heights and a clear recognition of the state of Israel. Israel continues to have concerns about Iranian and Syrian support for Hezbollah. However, it is noteworthy how acquiescent Hezbollah was when Israel invaded Gaza.

Also noteworthy is that Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah fully accepted the results of the recent Lebanese elections. It has been a fundamental view of Syria that Hezbollah is a political reality in Lebanon and that it should be seen as such. Latterly, it has worked hard to encourage change in the political topography of Lebanon to entrench Hezbollah as part of the democratic political process. Relations between Syria and virtually all Lebanese political leaders have improved dramatically with many ministerial visits and the exchange of ambassadors, which was inconceivable until recently.

Syria was told that its role in the lead-up to the Lebanese elections would be observed carefully. The outcome was beyond everybody's expectations. I am pleased that our Government, including our ambassador in Beirut, have met with the political arm of Hezbollah, thus recognising its electoral legitimacy.

I have said many times to Israeli friends that a core impetus to Hezbollah's military activities would be changed if Israel returned the Golan heights to Syria. Without that, there will be no comprehensive and enduring sense of security for Israel on its northern border. The Turkish Government sought to broker talks between the two countries. We wait to see whether Syria's offer to reopen talks with Israel will be taken up by Mr. Netanyahu. His Foreign Affairs Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has so far explicitly rejected discussion of the Golan heights, but these are early days.

No hon. Member can have failed to be concerned about the recent events in Iran.