Al-Jaafari: Syria’s chemical file should be closed completely to stop using it politically
Syria has reiterated that its nuclear file should be closed completely in order to stop all attempts to use it in political games and misinformation against Syria particularly because the country has joined the Chemical Weapons Convention since 2013. Syria has also called on the member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to stop politicizing the technical nature of the organization and correct the big malfunctions in its work that would destroy its position and credibility.
During a Security Council online meeting on Friday, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Bashar al- Jaafari , reaffirmed Syria’s condemnation of the use of chemical weapons or any kind of Mass Destruction Weapons anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances. He also stressed that the OPCW is a technical organization with sublime goals, but, as far as Syria’s chemical file, this organization has been turned into a tool in a geopolitical game led by the United States and its allies to politically blackmail other countries, a behavior that won’t serve the interest of the organization’s current Director Fernando Arias.
Al-Jaafari noted the contradiction in the work of the organization. He made it clear that Arias has indicated that since 2018, the OPCW has had a mandate to specify the identity of the perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria. Al-Jaafari wondered why this mandate is not applied to the incident of using chemical weapons in Khan Al-Asal town in Aleppo in March, 2013. He pointed out that Syria asked the then UN Chief Ban ki Moon to provide assistance to the investigation to identify the perpetrators of this chemical incident, but he said, after consultations with Western Countries in the Security Council, that he can’t, but he will send investigators.
Dr. Al- Jaafari clarified that “from the very beginning, these western countries were against identifying the perpetrators of the first chemical attack in the Syrian town of Khan al Asal..Why?..Because they knew that the terrorist organizations are the parties which brought the chemical materials from Libya, with the help of the Turkish intelligence on board of a Libyan civil plane, to Istanbul and then to Syria’s Aleppo. This is what all should know.”
Al-Jaafari went on to say that the organization has admitted in its reports that Syria has implemented all its obligations pursuant to the CWC including the destruction of its stockpile of chemical weapons on board of an American ship and two Norwegian ships.
He added that Syria has also sent 210 letters to the UN and the Security Council that contained information about the terrorists possessing and using chemical weapons in Syria and about French, American and Belgian experts delivering chemical materials to the terrorist groups in the north of Syria and in several areas in Idleb so that the terrorists can use these materials in chemical attacks against the Syrians and accuse the Syrian Arab Army of these crimes.
Al-Jaafari stressed that Syria has cooperated with all the organization’s activities, welcomed the visits of the OPCW’s investigation missions and facilitated their work in the country.
He clarified that despite Syria’s cooperation with the OPCW and its teams, some western states continue to promote a wrong image about Syria’s cooperation in order to keep the chemical file opened.
The senior Syrian diplomat reiterated that the western countries which claim that they are keen on the interests of the Syrian people are still providing support and protection to the terrorist groups which have been responsible for the suffering of the Syrians. He referred in this regard to the recent scandal of the Dutch government which proves its involvement in providing millions of dollars to support 22 terrorist groups in Syria.
He renewed Syria’s call on the OPCW member states to reject the politicization of its technical nature and correct the mistakes in its work.
Hamda Mustafa