OPCW not in Hurry to Investigate Alleged Chemical Incident in Syria: Moscow

MOSCOW- Shirking of full-scale investigation of the situations where toxic gas was allegedly used in Syria casts doubts over the ability of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a comment on Thursday.

“It looks like no one is in a hurry to go to Khan Sheykhun for verification of the details of a case as resounding as this one,” it said. “It is really saddening that the the OPCW mission does not show activity in what concerns the establishing of cases of chemical weapons utilization, as it puts off a trip to Khan Sheykhun time and again, making references to unfavorable security conditions,” the ministry said, according to Itar Tass.

 “All the conditions have been created there in terms of security and compliance with obligations under the Convention,” it said.

Representatives of the US, the UK and France fiercely resist attempts to find out who indeed is behind a possible use of sarin in the Syrian Idlib province, it said. The ministry said that on May 23 the UN Security Council had another discussion on the situation around the so-called Syrian chemical dossier.

“The Western trio of permanent members of the Security Council sought to impart a marked anti-Syrian and anti-Russian taint to the event,” the ministry pointed.

“It once again confirmed that the ‘denouncers’ of Damascus are not interested in establishing the truth in the issue as crucial as who stood behind the possible use of sarin in the Syrian province of Idlib on April 4,” the ministry said.

The incident with the alleged use of chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun in Idlib province took place on April 4. Washington accused Damascus of using chemical weapons, after which the US Navy delivered a missile strike overnight to April 7 on a Syrian military aerodrome in the province of Homs.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates completely denied using toxic gases in Khan Shaykhun or in any other Syrian village or city. It stressed that the Syrian Arab army doesn’t possess any kind of chemical weapons and it hasn’t used and won’t use such weapons in any of the battles with the terrorist organizations.

Zakharova: West Continues to ‘Turn a Blind Eye’ to Chemical Incidents in Syria

Some Western countries continue to cynically shut their eyes to numerous outrageous incidents with the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

The numerous instances of chemical weapons’ use by militants, which even in the opinion of Western media has become terrorists’ normal practice in Iraq’s Mosul expressly testifies to the scope of the problem of chemical terrorism in the Middle East, the Russian diplomat said.

“Meanwhile, Russia has been drawing attention for already three years but, to our deep regret, unsuccessfully to the incessant recurrences of chemical terrorism in Syria and Iraq,” Zakharova said.

“We numerously urged partners at various international venues, first of all, in the UN Security Council and the OPCW [the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] to pull efforts to counter chemical terrorism. However, all our efforts either do not find proper support of colleagues from Western countries or are openly blocked by them,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

“Apparently, all this is taking place in favor of some ambitions, possibly, geopolitical ambitions,” Zakharova said.

“Our colleagues continue to stick to double standards on the issues of the struggle against terrorism in Syria and Iraq,” the Russian diplomat said.

“They are cynically shutting their eyes to numerous outrageous incidents with the use of chemical weapons by terrorist and extremist structures,” she noted.

“In the desire to remove at any cost the regime existing in Syria, it is apparently more advantageous to groundlessly accuse the legitimately elected Syrian government of everything, the government that displayed its political will in 2013 in its voluntary move to give up its military chemical potential,” the Russian diplomat said.

Such state of things plays into the hands of terrorists who continue with impunity to use everywhere not only chlorine and other toxic chemicals but also full-blown chemical warfare agents of their own production, the spokeswoman said.

 H.M