Russia calls on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to return to its work – to the non-politicized technical professional track

Russia  has expressed its hope that recognition of the facts of manipulations regarding allegations of  using   chemical weapons in the eastern city of Douma in Ghouta in April 2018 would enable a  clarification of the truth and  a return to   the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW) to the non-politicized technical professional track as stipulated in the Chemical Weapons’ Convention.

Deputy Director of the Press and Information Department at  the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexi  Zaitsev said during a press conference in Moscow on Friday  that the weekly “The Nation”, which is one of the oldest American newspapers, published an article on July 24th, in which it reviewed in details  all the manipulations when preparing the report of the special mission of  OPCW  regarding  allegations  about  using   chemical weapons in Douma.

Zaitsev  pointed  out that although these facts are widely known,but  they appeared for the first time on the pages of this western newspaper.

Zaitsev pointed out that the manipulations referred to are discussed for the second year by many independent international experts, social and political figures as well as  representatives of the media.

He added the matter reached the point of appealing  to the Member States of the OPCW   and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to verify this situation and take urgent measures to restore trust  to  the technical secretariat of OPCW. 

The Russian spokesman asserted that Russia and its supporters in this opinion  always raise this issue , but there was no understandable reaction.

He indicated   that “an impression is being generated that someone simply wants to obliterate this issue and prevent its discussion”.

Zaitsev   stresses  that the reports of the special mission  were distorted from the beginning with the aim of justifying the actions of the United States, Britain, and France that struck by missiles the lands of an independent country, in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and recognized rules of international law..

The British Daily Mail newspaper revealed in November of last year that a leaked email clarified OPCW   had tampered with a report on an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Damascus countryside in April 2018, to accuse the Syrian Arab Army of  the incident  and justify the American-British aggression against Syria at the time.

Rawaa Ghanam