Letter to Tim Farron, my party secretary

Hello Tim,

I find the initiative (http://www.libdems.org.uk/five-tests-syria?e=866b83e44db6ed3767d09cd7f849c3b1&utm_source=libdems&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=151123_syr2&n=1) extremely noble and in line with the idea of hitting the Isil to normalise Syria and Iraq and, implicitly, reduce the refugees emergency.

I truly believe, though, that the Prime minister will find difficult guaranteeing at least two of the five points you are putting forward to grant his government our support.

The future of Syria and the one of Iraq have been debated for quite a long time. For Syria we got Russia that wants to guarantee Assad his right to rule as him and his father have done for decades. While we, the UK, have already said that we do not want him to stay one minute longer. For Iraq (and Syria) , we have the Kurdish area being still hit by Turkey, our Nato ally, that shows no merci towards the need of these people to self-rule. I remind you that Kurds, during the Iraqi wars claimed that they were gased by Turkey more than by Saddam.

The other point is the one about the Gulf countries that support, directly or indirectly, Isil. They are our allies, they buy our companies, they import our weapons,  they are becoming the backbone of our financial markets. The Tory government will not do anything to endanger our economy.

So, are we ready to sacrifice at least two of the five conditions we have set for our support to the government? I would. The situation is becoming more and more twisted and it's no longer clear who's fighting who. I would propose a compromise to Russia and Syrian parties, like granting Assad political asylum in a friendly country.

Anyway, again, I think that the letter you wrote with the other leaders of our party shows that we are not warmongers but we want a long lasting solution.

Thanks for the communication and,  greetings from London.