Theresa May has raised doubts over the safety and enforcement of a potential no-fly zone over Syria to protect civilians from Russian or Syrian airstrikes.
Andrew Mitchell, the former Conservative international development secretary, made a passionate case on Tuesday for a targeted no-fly zone aimed at Syrian helicopters or possibly tracking Russian jets.
But May told the Commons at prime minister’s questions: “The scenes we see of the indiscriminate slaughter of innocent civilians are absolutely appalling. We want to see an end to that, but there are many questions about a no-fly zone that need to be looked at: Who is it there to protect? Would it lead to [President Bashar al-]Assad bombing people in the expectation that they would then move to that zone? Who would enforce that safe area?”
She added: “What we all know is the only real solution is a political transition and it’s time Russia accepted that; that the future of Syria is a political transition to a stable Syria free of Assad.”
May’s questions are a clear indication that the British and US military are unconvinced about the feasibility of a no-fly zone, given the presence of Russian airplanes in the skies above Syria. London is waiting to see if Washington policy changes after the expected election of Hillary Clinton as president in January.
Asked if she would join France in calling for Russia to be referred to the international criminal court, May replied: “We’re very clear that it’s for the courts to decide where a war crime has been committed. It was May 2014 when we co-sponsored a UN security council resolution to refer those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, regardless of affiliation to the international criminal court. That was vetoed by Russia and China.”
Her remarks came as the French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, claimed Vladimir Putin had cancelled a visit to Paris next week because he was too embarrassed to discuss Syria. The French president, François Hollande, had insisted that his Russian counterpart meet him to discuss Syria as part of a long-arranged visit to open a Russian Orthodox church in the capital.
Asked about Boris Johnson’s call for protests outside the Russian embassy in London, Ayrault asked: “Is it the job of a foreign minister to organise demonstrations?”
