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British Official: Parliamentary Visit to Syria Doesn’t Represent the Government | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Head of Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad- AFP


London – British Foreign Office declared that the British visitors to Syria “do not represent the British government,” explaining that “Any British parliamentarians who have visited Damascus have done so independently. The British government advises against all travel to Syria.”

A British delegation met with head of Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. Assad highlighted the importance of the visits paid by foreign delegations to Syria to the effect of exposing the falsification practiced by Western media.

The delegation included members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, in addition to religious and academic figures.

Gareth Bayley, UK Special Representative for Syria, said any visit of British members to Syria is done independently. In the report published by the Dubai-based EU Neighborhood Info Centre, Bayley stressed that British government’s position remains the same regarding the political transition in Syria without Assad.

The representative said that British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson will receive the Syrian Opposition High Negotiations Commission on Wednesday to discuss their political vision for the negotiations on ending the war in Syria and the future of the country.

Bayley said that the commission includes a wide spectrum of the Syrian opposition residing in Syria as well as armed and unarmed groups, which results in different opinions.

He reiterated that the UK doesn’t have any contact with terrorists or extremists like al-Nusra Front or al-Aqsa soldiers.

The representative also stressed that any transitional government in Syria should be formed without Bashar al-Assad who was the main reason behind the country’s destruction. He explained that this government will include all parties of the Syrian community which will be able to stop bloodshed and fight terrorism.

Gareth Bayley concluded that Britain’s role in supporting the High Negotiations Commission is within the framework of UK’s support for a political solution. In addition to that, UK had sent 2.3 million pounds humanitarian aid for the Syrian people as well as pledging to send one billion pounds to help in the reconstruction of Syria and fighting ISIS.