Safronkov: US Afraid of Real Investigation into Syria Chemical Incident

The US missile strike in Syria “only facilitated the strengthening of terrorism,” Russia’s representative at the UN Security Council has said, adding that it shows Washington is “afraid” of a “real investigation” into an alleged chemical attack in Syria.

The US has “attacked those who combated terrorism” in Syria, the Russian deputy acting envoy to the UN, Vladimir Safronkov, said at a UN meeting on Friday, according to RT.

Saying that Washington’s attack on a Syrian airfield in the early hours of Friday morning was an “illegitimate act of aggression” on a “sovereign country,” the Russian diplomat said that the strike had “raised the spirits of terrorists” in the region.

 Previously, Washington had justified the presence of its troops in Syria with joint efforts in fighting international terrorism, Safronkov said, adding that the recent attack had proven otherwise.

Washington and its allies, especially in London and Paris, are “obsessed” with a “paranoid idea” to overthrow the legitimate Syrian government, the Russian representative said.

The Syrian government is not in control of the area in Idlib province where an alleged chemical attack happened, the Russian diplomat said, adding that the US is “afraid” of a real, genuine investigation into the incident, which might have proven them wrong in blaming the Syrian government for the alleged use of chemical weapons.

The alleged use of chemical weapons tactics would have been counter-productive for the Syrian government, the Russian official said, adding that such provocations only benefit terrorists and hardened “opposition”.

He also criticized Washington and its supporters for having put aside the UN’s “golden standard” of the presumption of innocence, saying that in the case with Syria it had been ignored.

While Russia has called for a united anti-terrorist front in the region, the US has chosen its own path, he said.

Having accused Washington of hypocrisy, the Russian diplomat said that Moscow considered the US attack in Syria “an attempt to sidetrack the attention” of the world from its actions in Iraq’s Mosul.

“The strikes on Syria are also an attempt to sidetrack attention from numerous casualties among the civilian population in Iraq and Syria, caused by [America’s] unilateral actions,” Safronkov said. He added that such a policy undermines the UN’s efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the crisis.

“Think of the consequences of what you’ve produced in the Middle East and how it affects the political process,” the diplomat said, addressing the US and representatives of the nations which expressed support for the missile strike.

“You must remember the tragedies for the countries, the whole regions and the people caused by your choice of action,” he added.

 “We call on the US to immediately stop the aggression, join political efforts and start a coordinated fight against the terrorist threat,” Russia’s UN representative concluded, saying that Moscow remains open to such cooperation.

Bolivia UN Envoy on Syria Attack: ‘History Teaches Us’ US Lies to Justify Wars

Lambasting the United States’ aggression against Syria, Bolivian Ambassador to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti compared the basis for the unilateral move to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s infamous 2003 presentation to the body, when fraudulent evidence of an alleged Iraqi weapons program was presented to justify the U.S. war on Iraq, Telesure reported.

Holding up an enlarged photo of Colin Powell’s “weapons of mass destruction” speech, Llorenti made an impassioned plea to hold the U.S. to account for Thursday’s unprovoked attack on Syria, noting the U.S. history of imperialist interventions in other nations, including Latin America.

“Now the United States believe that they are investigators, they are attorneys, judges and they are the executioners. That’s not what international law is about.”

The Andean nation currently holds a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

“I believe it’s vital for us to remember what history teaches us and on this occasion (in 2003), the United States did affirm, they affirmed that they had all the proof necessary to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction but they were never found … never were they found,” the Bolivian envoy told the emergency Security Council meeting on Friday.

In turn, the Chinese representative said that the only way to end the crisis in Syria is the political solution, as the military solution will only make the situation more complicated, asserting that China calls on all sides to continue diplomatic efforts and adhere to dialogue to make progress in the Geneva talks, according to the Syrian News Agency SANA.