Al-Jaafari: Syria is committed to cooperation with the OPCW to settle all pending issues to close the file completely and remive it out of the circle of political manipulation

New York (ST): Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari has reiterated that Syria did not use chemical weapons and it no more possesses them.

In a statement he made before the UN Security Council session, held via video conference, al-Jaafari affirmed that Syria is committed to cooperation with the OPCW and its technical secretariat to settle all pending issues in a way that leads to closing the file completely and getting it out of the circle of political manipulation and media misleading.

The Syrian diplomat clarified that Syria, despite the difficult circumstances it passed through over the past years and the grave challenges created by the terrorist organizations and their operators, was able to cooperate with the OPCW and comply to its pledges resulting from its joining of the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013. He noted that such cooperation resulted in eliminating all the stockpile and production facilities of chemical weapons, and this was confirmed by Sigrid Kaag, the Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (OPCW-UN) in the briefing she made before the UNSC in June 2014.

Al-Jaafari added that despite all this, some member states retained their hostile stand towards Syria, sought to increase escalation and political pressure towards Syria and launched unilateral and tripartite aggressions against Syria and destroyed civil facilities such as Barzeh Centre for Scientific Research. Moreover, these states resorted to create illegitimate mechanisms to serve their colonialist agenda.

The Syrian diplomat stressed the necessity for these states to abandon politicization of these important issues and preserve the technical nature of the OPCW, its credibility and professionalism, wondering about the repeated allegations of some Western officials and their insistence to deny established facts and evidence that refute their allegations.

Al-Jaafari clarified that the governments of Western states are directly responsible without any shade of doubt for the suffering Syrian people have been living through for nine years because of their direct involvement in the terrorist, political, economic and financial war waged against Syria. “As they claim their adherence to noble principles and sublime values in all issues related to the situation in Syria, these states commit the ugliest crimes against Syrian people and enjoy the suffering of their victims” the Syrian diplomat said, referring that the Western contradiction also appears clearly in issues related to disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. “These states destroyed Iraq under false pretexts and launched a misleading campaign against Syria, but at the same time sponsor and support the Israeli chemical and nuclear arsenal and defend Israeli violations of all international conventions.” Al-Jaafari said

He pointed out that Syria is currently hosting a delegation of experts and inspectors whose visit will last until November 24stressing that Syria has always cooperated with the OPCW.It ensures protection for them and unrestricted entrance to all the places they want to visit, noting that the reports of the sixth round of inspection were released in which the experts affirmed the non-existence of any chemical materials or any banned activities in Barzeh Research Centre and Jamraya.

Al-Jaafari clarified that Syria submitted last October 15, its 83rdmonthly report to the technical secretariat regarding the activities related to the destruction of the chemical weapons and production facilities.

 Al-Jaafari reiterated Syria’s demand to all member states of the OPCW to reject the politicization of the technical nature of the organization and deal with its grave defects that undermine the credibility and position of the Organization and demand the UN Higher Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu to commit to the principles of professionalism, neutrality and objectivity and stop ignoring the reports submitted by Syria.

The Syrian diplomat affirmed that the US is still the only state who joins the Chemical Weapons Convention and at the same time possesses huge arsenal of chemical weapons and rejects to destroy them. “ Moreover, the US and its allies have been sponsoring the terrorist organizations which are using chemical weapons and poisonous gases against Syrian Arab army and Syrian people,” he concluded.

K.Q.