Moscow Slams Washington for Unfounded Accusations Over Chemical Attacks in Syria

MOSCOW – The United States has unleashed a massive propaganda against Russia by accusing Moscow of the involvement in alleged chemical weapons use in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said late on Wednesday.

“On January 23, a number of high-ranking US officials slandered the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic in an attempt to blame them for the incidents involving the use of chemical weapons during the conflict in that country,” the ministry said in a commentary, Sputnik reported.

 “Essentially, a massive propaganda attack has been undertaken to blacken Russia on the world stage and undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement in Syria,” the ministry stressed.

According to the ministry, the latest series of “hypocritical” accusations against Russia aim at hampering the objective investigation of alleged chemical attacks in Syria as Washington is not interested in finding real perpetrators of these attacks.

At the same time, the ministry called on other participants of the Paris meeting on January 23 to distance themselves from the documents adopted there under US pressure.

“We call on our colleagues to think about what the US is trying to do, and to distance themselves from this risky adventure, which has nothing in common with the goals announced by its organizers,” the ministry stressed.

The so-called White Helmets, which have links to terrorists in Syria, on Monday accused Syrian forces of using chlorine gas in eastern Gouta near Damascus in an air attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the incident had not been confirmed independently and accused the group of associating with “terrorist groups.” It accused the United States of not seeking any proof of Syrian government’s or Russia’s involvement and apportioning the blame based on its own “geopolitical ambitions.”

“On January 23 US representatives categorically rejected at a UN Security Council session our draft resolution on the creation of a new, unbiased and truly efficient mechanism to replace JIM (Joint Investigative Mechanism). The Americans don’t need instruments to conduct fair probes. They need only new pretexts to accuse the Syrian authorities and now Russia,” it said.

The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said Wednesday that consultations at the UN Security Council on Russia’s draft resolution on a mechanism for the investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria might be held on Thursday or Friday.

Kremlin: US Swept Real Chemical Weapons Probe in Syria under the Rug, Prefers Labeling

Moscow categorically disagrees with the approach employed by the Americans, the Kremlin spokesman said

According to Itar Tass, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Washington has covered up any real investigation into previous evidence on chemical weapons use in Syria and prefers labeling

The Russian presidential spokesman declined to comment directly on a statement by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who blamed Moscow for chemical weapons use in Syria, leaving “this privilege to colleagues from the Foreign Ministry of Russia.”

 “So, we categorically disagree with the approach employed by the Americans who have actually swept the real probe into previous cases of chemical weapons use under the rug,” Peskov noted

H.M