Sir Keir Starmer has mentioned the UK will play a extra lively position within the Center East following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.
The prime minister additionally introduced an extra £11m in humanitarian support for probably the most weak in Syria, the place insurgent forces have toppled the 24-year dictatorship of Bashar al Assad.
Talking from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Sir Keir mentioned: “From cutting the cost of living for hardworking British people, to building resilient supply chains or supporting communities in Britain, what happens in the Middle East matters at home.
“That’s the reason we’re strengthening our defence partnership with Saudi Arabia, defending probably the most weak in Syria, supporting our companions in Lebanon and dealing with the worldwide group to push for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, safe the return of all hostages and speed up support into Gaza.
UK must ‘think about’ whether or not to take away Syrian rebels as terror group
“To deliver on my plan for change, we need a strong foundation of security but that cannot just be built at home, it requires us to play our part on the world stage to support stability and protect partners from threats, both now and in the future.”
The prime minister is at the moment visiting the Center East on a visit that was scheduled earlier than the Assad regime fell following a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces throughout the nation.
Mr Assad fled to Russia and is in Moscow, in keeping with the Syrian embassy.
All eyes at the moment are on what occurs subsequent in Syria, with questions over what sort of authorities Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) – the insurgent group that led the profitable offensive – will type.
HTS was once a wing of al Qaeda referred to as the Nusra Entrance and has lengthy been designated a terrorist group by the US, UK and Russia.
Its founder, Abu Mohammed al Jolani, lower ties with al Qaeda in 2016 in an effort to look reasonable and in 2021 he mentioned he had no want to wage struggle towards Western international locations.
On Monday Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, mentioned the UK authorities would “consider” eradicating the group from its record of banned terror organisations.
Earlier Sir Keir “welcomed” the autumn of the “brutal” regime forward of his go to to the Gulf, saying the Syrian folks “have put up with his brutal regime for far, far too long”.
In addition to vowing to play a extra lively position within the area, the prime minister mentioned the UK would additionally search to strengthen defence co-operation with Saudi Arabia.
The UK may even present the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), considered the one authentic army pressure in Lebanon, with coaching and tools with a view to keep the ceasefire agreed with Israel.
