Relationship dossier
Syria
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
A history of acute political confrontation, with humanitarian and counter-ISIS cooperation and an uncertain post-2024 relationship.
Syria toward United Kingdom
-30Under Bashar al-Assad, Syria expelled British diplomats in 2012 amid a severe diplomatic dispute. The change of government in 2024 makes the current Syrian authorities’ policy toward the United Kingdom less certain.
United Kingdom toward Syria
-35The United Kingdom withdrew its embassy staff from Syria in 2012, imposed sanctions on the Syrian government and recognized the Syrian opposition coalition as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people. It also provided humanitarian assistance and participated in the campaign against ISIS in Syria.
Overall relationship
-30The relationship was defined by the United Kingdom’s opposition to the Assad government and the resulting diplomatic rupture and sanctions. Humanitarian aid and cooperation against ISIS provided important, but limited, areas of common purpose. The change of government in Syria in 2024 leaves the durability of this earlier pattern uncertain.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Relations were sharply strained during Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Syria expelled British diplomats in 2012, while the United Kingdom withdrew its embassy staff, imposed sanctions and recognized the Syrian opposition coalition as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people. British humanitarian assistance and participation in the campaign against ISIS were areas of cooperation, but they did not remove the central political conflict. Syria’s change of government in 2024 makes the subsequent bilateral relationship less certain.
Areas of tension
- UK sanctions on the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad
- UK recognition of the Syrian opposition coalition
- The 2012 diplomatic dispute and expulsion of British diplomats
Key developments
The United Kingdom withdrew its embassy staff from Syria amid escalating violence and diplomatic tensions.
Syria expelled British diplomats during a wider diplomatic dispute.
The United Kingdom recognized the Syrian opposition coalition as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of UK engagement with Syria’s post-2024 authorities are unclear.
- The extent to which sanctions and other UK policies toward Syria have changed is unclear.