ID :
406037
Fri, 05/06/2016 - 14:57
Auther :

Russian Foreign Ministry says chemical terrorism gains strength in Syria, Iraq

MOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/. The latest statement by the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ahmet Uzumcu, to the effect militants of the Islamic State (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) have used mustard gas in Syria and Iraq is fresh evidence that chemical terrorism has been gaining strength in both countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Friday. "We’ve taken note of the interview OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu granted to the news agency France Presse," Zakharova said. "In that interview he said that OPCW experts had exposed instances of mustard gas being used in Iraq and Syria. Apparently, Islamic State militants are behind them." "Uzumcu voiced serious fears the Islamic State may have access to technologies, knowhow and components necessary for the production of chemical weapons, which fully agrees with Russia’s vision of what is happening in Syria and Iraq, where chemical terrorism is gaining strength," Zakharova said. The Russian Foreign Ministry had highlighted that issue more than once, she went on to say. "We’ve raised the issue not for a month and not for half a year. We’ve been talking about that at the United Nations, too," Zakharova said. "At different international sites we were saying regularly it would be extremely dangerous, should non-state actors acquire a military-chemical potential, including that of foreign origin. Moreover, this is capable of causing ever more destabilizing effects on the entire region of the Middle East." Zakharova recalled that the OCPW mission’s mandate did not allow the organization to identify those responsible for such crimes. "But this is a competence of the special joint OCPW-UN mechanism, established under a UN Security Council’s decision to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria," she said. "We expect that this mechanism will be able to make the corresponding conclusions regarding the inhuman acts of chemical terrorism in Syrian territory." "With this in mind Russia in cooperation with China has suggested the UN Security Council should adopt a resolution to specify the mandate of this mechanism along anti-terrorist lines," Zakharova said. "Regrettably, our Western counterparts remain opposed to this." Read more

X