Duma deputy says E. Ghouta 'revolver pressed to head' of Damascus
MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The Eastern Ghouta situation is becoming a serious threat to the entire Middle East, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society Sergei Gavrilov said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Eastern Ghouta is a revolver pressed to the head of the independent country's capital," Gavrilov said.
"Things were more or less okay, and a chance for establishing a dialogue remained as long as local gangs were operating there," he said.
"Now such organizations as Jabhat al-Nusra [banned in Russia] have moved their headquarters [to Eastern Ghouta], foreign inspectors have been deployed there, and a mechanism of provocations involving alleged chemical weapons is being tested in that area," Gavrilov said.
"We can see that Eastern Ghouta is becoming a source of serious threats to both Syria and the entire region," he said.
The escalated tension forced a State Duma delegation to cancel its humanitarian mission to Syria, Gavrilov said.