Russia: OPCW's Report over Syria Chemical Weapons is 'Baseless'

Russia: OPCW's Report over Syria Chemical Weapons is 'Baseless'
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Russia: OPCW's Report over Syria Chemical Weapons is 'Baseless'

Russia: OPCW's Report over Syria Chemical Weapons is 'Baseless'

Russia clashed with European nations in the UN Security Council on Wednesday over a report issued by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) blaming the Syrian air force for a series of attacks using sarin and chlorine on opposition-held town in 2017.

Moscow described the report as “baseless” by the time the Europeans demanded accountability for the Syrian regime action.

In a 82-page report issued April 8, the the global chemical weapons watchdog said the Syrian air force dropped bombs containing either chlorine or sarin on a hospital and open farmland in the central town of Latamneh, injuring over 70 people and killing at least three — a surgeon and two others.

The exchanges between Russia and the Europeans took place at the monthly meeting on Syria’s chemical weapons, which was closed, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The group's investigative team noted that “there are reasonable grounds” to believe the perpetrators in Latamneh of the use of sarin on March 24 and 30, and chlorine on March 25, 2017, were part of the Syrian Arab Air Force, OPCW coordinator Santiago Oñate-Laborde said.

The investigation included interviews with witnesses, analyses of samples taken from the sites of the attacks, as well as review of symptoms reported by those affected and medical staff, along with examination of imagery, including satellite images.

For his part, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitusu briefed the council, including on the findings of the OPCW report, and stressed that they were “deeply distressing.”

Dujarric said Nakamitusu reiterated Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ position “that the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, is intolerable and impunity for their use is equally unacceptable. It is imperative to identify and hold accountable all those who have used chemical weapons.”

Germany’s deputy UN ambassador Jurgen Schulz told the council: “Accountability is essential and impunity for these heinous crimes is not an option.”

Also, Estonia’s UN Ambassador Sven Jürgenson supported the report’s findings and condemned “the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.”

After the report was issued, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official, quoted on state media, said: “Syria condemns in the strongest terms what was stated in the report,” and “categorically denies that it used toxic gases in the town of Latamneh or in any other Syrian city or village.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council that all of Syria’s chemical weapons were destroyed and accused the OPCW experts of “echoing baseless accusations” by some unnamed countries, “biases,” and preparing a report “without even the slightest traces of due diligence.”

According to AP, the report said that Syrian authorities repeatedly refused to cooperate with the investigation.



After US Exemption, UN Says More Significant Syria Sanctions Work Needed

A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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After US Exemption, UN Says More Significant Syria Sanctions Work Needed

A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
A general view shows Damascus from Mount Qasioun, after one month since the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

A US sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria is welcome, but "much more significant work ... will inevitably be necessary," the UN special envoy on Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the Security Council on Wednesday.

After 13 years of civil war, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in a lightening offensive by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group a month ago.

The US, Britain, the European Union and others imposed tough sanctions on Syria after a crackdown by Assad on pro-democracy protests in 2011 that spiraled into war. But the new reality in Syria has been further complicated by sanctions on HTS - and some leaders - for its days as an al-Qaeda affiliate.

"I welcome the recent issuance of a new temporary General License by the United States government. But much more significant work in fully addressing sanctions and designations will inevitably be necessary," Pedersen told the council.

The US on Monday issued a sanctions exemption, known as a general license, for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months in an effort to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance and allow some energy transactions.

"The United States welcomes positive messages from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but will ultimately look for progress in actions, not words," deputy US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Camille Shea told the Security Council.

The foreign ministry in Damascus on Wednesday welcomed the US move and called for a full lifting of restrictions to support Syria's recovery.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier on Wednesday that European Union sanctions on Syria that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder the country's recovery could be lifted swiftly.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia criticized the sanctions imposed on Syria by Washington and others, adding: "As a result, the Syrian economy is under extreme pressure and is not able to cope with the challenges facing the country." Russia was an Assad ally throughout the war.

'END THE SUFFERING'

Formerly known as Nusra Front, HTS was al-Qaeda's official wing in Syria until breaking ties in 2016. Along with unilateral measures, the group has also been on the UN Security Council al-Qaeda and ISIS sanctions list for more than a decade, subjected to a global assets freeze and arms embargo.

There are no UN sanctions on Syria over the civil war.

Syria's UN Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak was appointed a year ago by Assad's government but told the council on Wednesday that he was speaking for the caretaker authorities.

"It is high time to end the suffering, to enable Syrians to live in security and prosperity, to live a dignified life in their country, to build a better future for their country," Aldahhak said.

"For this reason, we call upon the United Nations and its member states to immediately and fully lift the unilateral coercive measures to provide the necessary financing to meet humanitarian needs and recover basic services," he said.

Pedersen said he is seeking to work with the caretaker authorities in Syria "on how the nascent and important ideas and steps so far articulated and initiated could be developed towards a credible and inclusive political transition."

Pedersen said attacks on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop, specifically calling out Israel.

As Assad's government crumbled towards the end of last year, Israel launched a series of strikes against Syrian military infrastructure and weapons manufacturing sites to prevent them falling into the hands of enemies.

"Reports of the IDF using live ammunition against civilians, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure are also very worrying," Pedersen said. "Such violations, along with Israeli airstrikes in other parts of Syria – reported even last week in Aleppo – could further jeopardize the prospects for an orderly political transition."