No Doubt, Douma ‘Chemical Attack’ Staged, OPCW Must Investigate on Ground in Syria: Nebenzia

NEW YORK- Russia is deeply concerned by the fact that some capitals, Washington as well as London and Paris, which are “blindly following” their US allies, have engaged “in a confrontational policy against Russia and Syria without any justification,” The Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said during an emergency UN Security Council meeting on security in the Middle East, in the wake of fabricated reports about an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma, according to RT.

 He went on to say that Moscow recently faced “slander, hawkish rhetoric, sanctions, blackmail” and even “threats of force.”

Western states are now threatening and slandering Russia with a ferocity that their governments “did not take the liberty” to unleash during the Cold War, Nebenzia added. “Russia has been inexcusably threatened,” he said.

Nebenzia stressed that every time the Western powers interfere into other states’ affairs, they “leave only chaos behind.” “Do you understand the dangerous threshold to which you are bringing the world?” the Russian envoy asked.

There is “no doubt” that the alleged chemical attack in Syria’s Douma was staged, Nebenzia said, commenting on the developments in Eastern Ghouta. He then called for an impartial probe into the reported incident, which should begin with the presumption of innocence.

The UN chemical watchdog must visit Syria and investigate the allegations, Nebenzia said, calling on the Organization for the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to visit Douma as early as Tuesday. Syrian and Russian troops would provide the inspectors with a safe passage to the area of the alleged chemical attack in Douma after they arrive to Damascus, he said.

Scene of an alleged chemical strike was a fake

Nebenzia questioned the ‘evidence’ provided by the controversial White Helmets group. In particular, he said the scene of an alleged chemical strike was a fake, saying that it seemed “unnatural” that the bomb “struck the roof of a building and then fell on a wooden bed without even damaging it.”

The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, opened the meeting by talking about the reports on the alleged chemical attack in Douma and the subsequent airstrike against the Syrian T-4 air base. He called for an “independent investigation” of the alleged chemical incident and urged restraint for all sides, in view of the airbase attack.

No trace of chemical weapons at alleged attack site in Douma – Russian military

Earlier, the Russian military has found no trace of chemical weapons use after searching parts of Syria’s Douma allegedly targeted by an “attack.” Photos of victims posted by the White Helmets are fake, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

Experts in radiological, chemical and biological warfare, as well as medics, on Monday inspected the parts of the Eastern Ghouta city of Douma, where an alleged chemical attack supposedly took place on Saturday, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said in a statement.

The specialists “found no traces of the use of chemical agents” after searching the sites, the statement said. The center’s medical specialists also visited a local hospital but found no patients that showed signs of chemical weapons poisoning. “All these facts show… that no chemical weapons were used in the town of Douma, as it was claimed by the White Helmets,” the statement said, referring to the controversial “civil defense” group that was among the first to report about the alleged attack.

 “All the accusations brought by the White Helmets, as well as their photos… allegedly showing the victims of the chemical attack, are nothing more than a yet another piece of fake news and an attempt to disrupt the ceasefire,” the Reconciliation Center said.

H.M