Today I am updating the House on the steps to update and adapt the UK’s Syria sanctions regime following the fall of Assad’s dictatorship in December last year and given the ongoing political transition.

On 12 February, the UK issued a Humanitarian General Licence to provide essential sanctions relief to Syria, a country facing staggering humanitarian needs, a broken economy and in the first stages of recovery after almost fourteen years of conflict.

My statement to the House on 13 February indicated the direction of travel for our Syria sanctions regulations. On 6 March, we announced the de-listing of 24 Syrian entities that were previously used by the Assad regime to fund the oppression of the Syrian people, including the Central Bank of Syria, Syrian Arab Airlines, and a number of energy companies.

On 24 April we took further steps towards helping the Syrian people rebuild their country and economy. We have amended our Syria sanctions regulations to bring them up to date and have revoked specific sanctions measures on energy, transport (aircraft), financial transactions and trade. We have also de-listed a further 12 governmental and media entities given that they are no longer associated with the Assad regime and their designations were defunct. Our revised Syria sanctions regulations however give the UK scope to deploy future sanctions in the Syria context, should that become necessary.

In taking these steps, our intention is to help open up the Syrian financial system and support the flow of essential investment in energy infrastructure, above all in the electricity generation sector, essential for Syria’s reconstruction. This is vital for ensuring stability in Syria and the wider region - recognising that wider international steps will be necessary to support these objectives.

The Government remains determined to hold Bashar al-Assad and his associates accountable for their atrocious actions against the people of Syria. As such, we will ensure that asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former regime remain in force. We also continue to keep the ongoing developments in Syria under close review.

As my Honourable Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East said in his statement to the House back in March, stability in Syria is firmly in our interests. We will continue to engage with the Syrian Government at all levels to support an inclusive political transition, and to encourage commitment to the protection of human rights, unfettered access for humanitarian aid, safe destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles, and combatting terrorism and extremism. The UK remains committed to the people of Syria and will continue to stand with them in building a more stable, free and prosperous future.