Moscow Says JIM on Chemical Weapon Use in Syria Is “Dead”
NEW YORK, (ST)- Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia has stressed that the UN-OPCW Joint Investigation Mechanism (JIM) on chemical weapons use in Syria is “dead” and it has completely lost credibility, affirming the need to establish a new neutral mechanism.
Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after a closed Security Council discussion that the Joint Investigative Mechanism, or JIM, “has discredited itself completely.”
“But we are ready to talk about establishing a new mechanism that would replace the JIM and do the work in a professional and objective” way, he said.
Last Thursday, Russia vetoed a US draft resolution on extending the mandate of the UN OPCW Joint Investigation Mechanism (JIM) for investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Moscow also vetoed a Japanese draft to extend the mechanism’s work for 30 days. The JIM’s mandate ended on November 17th.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has made it clear that the JIM’s mission behaved shamefully and it depended in its results on information provided by non-government organizations and sources linked to terrorists.
Hamda Mustafa