Jeremy Corbyn calls for Syria peace talks to be merged 'without preconditions'
3 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has called on Theresa May to ditch a "bomb first, talk later" approach to the Syrian conflict and merge two sets of peace talks "without preconditions".
Fleshing out what his party is calling “an independent course” to bring the country’s brutal seven-year civil war to an end, the Labour leader called for a fresh diplomatic effort in the region, and he threw his weight behind a new United Nations-backed “de-escalation” zone.
Around 400,000 Syrians have died in the war since 2011, according to UN estimates, and the Labour leader - who on Friday visited the Zaatari refugee camp in neighbouring Jordan - argued that the intervention of major world powers had so far made things worse.
Mr Corbyn warned: “We need to do everything necessary and effective to keep our people safe. That means ending the bomb first, talk later approach to international affairs, which has left a trail of destruction abroad and left us less safe at home.”
The party is calling for the stalled United Nations-sponsored Geneva peace process to be rolled together with the separate Sochi and Astana discussions which have so far been led by Russia, Turkey and Iran. Labour say those merged talks should go ahead “without preconditions”.
Mr Corbyn said: "Politically we need to be doing a great deal more to try and bring about a ceasefire and an end to the war in Syria.
"The abuse of human rights, the destruction of lives, the destruction of society, is appalling by any stretch of the imagination. And refugees are now in all neighbouring countries and of course in Turkey, and in Greece and across Europe.
"Working to end long standing conflicts, which create further violence and conflict, is at the heart of Labour’s approach to domestic security."
The party meanwhile said in a statement that it would seek an “independent, but multilateral course” in foreign policy and “take a step back from US policy, which, under President Trump is increasingly erratic and contradictory”.
“Britain would use a more independent stance to help bring to the negotiating table all the major parties to the conflict, under an inclusive UN-led process, combining the Geneva and Astana processes,” the party said.
It added: "The talks would seek to engage all parties."
'DE-ESCALATION'
Mr Corbyn also called for full United Nations supervision of a series of “de-escalation” zones which have been set up in the region following talks between Russia, Turkey and Iran - and latterly between Moscow, the US and Jordan.
The Labour leader told Sky News the setting up of the sites - where more than 2.5m people are estimated to live - had helped “build confidence” in the region, and he pledged that a Labour government would seek to expand the zones under the auspices of the UN.
Mr Corbyn's call for a shift in policy on Syria comes after the Prime Minister earlier this year authorised a series of British airstrikes on chemical weapons facilities in the country.
Mrs May said she had "no practicable alternative" than to order the attack following a chemical weapons attack on the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta that left scores of civilians dead.
"This persistent pattern of behaviour must be stopped – not just to protect innocent people in Syria from the horrific deaths and casualties caused by chemical weapons but also because we cannot allow the erosion of the international norm that prevents the use of these weapons," she said.
But Mr Corbyn branded the intervention - which took place before MPs had been given a chance to debate it - "legally questionable" and said it was likely to increase tensions in the region, a position that saw him come in for heavy criticism from some senior Labour backbenchers.
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