The war in Syria has raged for nearly seven years, and its costs have been huge. It’s a tragedy most immediately for the Syrian people, but also for the international community too. Important powers, like Russia and the United Kingdom, who take their international responsibility seriously, have struggled, frankly, to agree on how best to help end the conflict.
But I think that Moscow and London agree on more than some people may think. Both of us, for example, recognise that we need a political settlement to end this war. And we want a settlement that reunites the country, closes down the space for terrorism, and gives the Syrian people the prosperity, stability and security that they deserve.
There can be no military solution to this civil war. Russia is concerned about Syria’s political stability, and so are we. That’s why the UK believes that serious political reform is essential. And international partners will not help fund the massive reconstruction bills that are necessary, without any evidence of serious reform and political transition. But to reach that political settlement, both sides are going to have to enter negotiations in good faith. Regrettably I saw myself in Vienna last week the Assad regime refusing to engage constructively on this, despite Russian efforts to encourage them to do so. This has to change.
The UK welcomes Russia’s recent efforts to drive forward a political settlement in Syria and its recognition of the primacy of the United Nation’s Geneva process. So let’s now use whatever momentum has been generated by the Sochi Conference to reinvigorate the UN-managed negotiations. But this requires Assad to seize his obstructionism.
A regime that uses chemical weapons on its own people does not deserve the protection of a responsible P5 Security Council member. So we look to Russia to work with United Nations and international partners and to use its formidable strength and influence to bring Damascus to the negotiating table and end this conflict once and for all.
Martin Longden,
UK Special Envoy to Syria
