The official visit of British delegation of Labour Party politicians and trade unionists to members of PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in northern Syria is not supported by U.K. government, British Embassy in Ankara said.
In a written statement to Daily Sabah, the embassy said: "HMG [Her Majesty's Government] had no involvement in, and provided no encouragement for, the delegation's visit to Syria. We continue to advise against all travel to the country."
On April 3, a British delegation visited Enver Muslum, the brother of Salih Muslum, who is a former PYD co-chair, in Qamishli. They expressed their solidarity with the PYD and its YPG militia and vowed to continue their support.
The visit of the delegation to the areas controlled by the YPG comes at a time when there are reports that the U.S. and France are boosting their military presence in the region.
"We're here for a long-term relationship with you," Labour parliamentarian Maurice Glasman said while in Qamishli in northern Syria. Glasman then further expressed their solidarity with the PYD and YPG, saying: "We also bring, with a full heart, our solidarity." Glasman added that they will continue their visits to the region controlled by the YPG in northern Syria and will continue to meet with PYD officials.
About his visit to Qamishli, Labour parliamentarian Lloyd Russell-Moyle said that they would share the details of their visit with British parliament and with the British public. He also expressed the delegation's solidarity with the YPG, saying: "We want to say we are with you side by side."
Russell-Moyle also commemorated the death of Anna Campbell, who was killed while fighting in the YPG's all women affiliate Women's Protection Units (YPJ) in northern Syria. Russell-Moyle posted on his Twitter account: "visited Kobani, seeing support for displaced people, war graves of local and international fighters and met with local officials."
Labour is the second-largest party in the British parliament and is also highly critical of Ankara.
Sabah reached out to the British Embassy in Ankara regarding the U.K. position on this issue. In a written statement, the British Embassy said that they are "aware that a small delegation, including two Labour parliamentarians, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP and Lord Maurice Glasman visited Northern Syria on Tuesday 3 April."
In addition to the two Labour parliamentarians, Turkish-British politician İbrahim Doğuş, Unite the Union International Director Simon Dubbins and Ryan Fletcher were also in the delegation.