US Claims about Syria Planning Chemical Attack Invites Terrorists to Launch Provocation- Moscow

MOSCOW-Russia perceives allegations made by the White House that Syria could be preparing a chemical attack as an invitation for terrorists to launch a provocation using chemical weapons, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Wednesday.

Earlier this week, White House spokesperson Sean Spicer claimed that the United States allegedly “observed potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government,” Sputnik reported.

“We consider these new insinuations on the issue of weapons of mass destruction — in the worst traditions of 2003 NATO intervention in Iraq — to be nothing less than an invitation for terrorists, extremists and armed opposition in Syria to fabricate another mass provocation using chemical weapons,” the statement, published on the Ministry’s website, said.

 On Tuesday, the Kremlin commented on the White House’s claim and said that it considers US’ threats against Syrian legitimate leadership to be “unacceptable.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov pointed out that the Syrian government cannot be held accountable for the April 4 chemical attack in the Idlib province “because, as you know, despite all of Russia’s demands, an unbiased international investigation of the previous tragedy has not been carried out.”

Groundless Statements’ From US on Syria

The Trump administration’s statements that it will not give proof of its allegations that the Syrian government is preparing a chemical attack are out of line with norms of international relations, Russian political analyst Lev Klepatsky told Sputnik.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, for her part, said during a press briefing on Tuesday that that she could not provide evidence of the Syrian government ‘s alleged chemical attack preparations because that “would be considered an intelligence matter.”

“So as you all are aware, there are a lot of these things that will pop up sometimes, that we just can’t get into the details about this, but this has obviously gotten the attention of the United States government at the highest level,” she said.

These remarks may be put on the table of the UN Security Council, Professor Lev Klepatsky of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy said in an interview with Sputnik.

“Such a statement does not comply with the norms of international relations. Washington’s reluctance to give proof of its groundless statements about the Syrian government’s preparations for a chemical attack can be seen as a declaration of war,” Klepatsky said.

“This is why the UN Security Council may deal with this statement during its upcoming meeting. This should take a toll on the US and its international clout,” he added.

The Independent, for its part, quoted sources in the Pentagon and the Central Command, which oversees the country’s military operations in Syria and Iraq as saying that they “have no idea” why the White House made the statement on Damascus’ alleged plans to launch a chemical attack.

On April 4, the United States unfairly blamed the Syrian government for an alleged chemical weapon attack in Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province.

Reacting to the incident, Washington, which had not presented any proof that Damascus had used chemical weapons, launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat on April 6.

Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement in the incident and said that the Syrian government doesn’t possess chemical weapons as the full destruction of Damascus’ chemical weapons stockpile was confirmed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in January 2016.

Russia cautions US against unilateral action in Syria in wake of new claims

Russia has cautioned the US against any unilateral action in Syria after Washington claimed Damascus may be preparing for a chemical attack.

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said the US statements accusing the Syrian government of a chemical weapons attack would hinder the intra-Syrian talks.

“These speculations are not backed up by anything. No one is putting forward any facts,” he said.

The US statements are unacceptable, he said, adding, “This complicates the negotiation process, negatively affects the efforts being made in Astana and Geneva.”

Gatilov assured that Syrian army troops pose no threat to US forces, Russia’s RIA news agency reported.

He also denounced US attacks on Syrian armed forces, saying “these actions are provocative in nature.”

H.M