Absence of reaction from OPCW to Damascus reports of use of chemical weapons in Syria causes perplexity - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax) - Moscow is surprised by the absence of reaction from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the reports from Damascus on the use of chemical weapons in Syria and expects a report on the joint UN-OPCW mechanism on the violations in August.
"The information on the use by militants of chemical weapons is received regularly, including on the use by them of chlorine. We have precise information that ISIL [terrorist group banned in Russia] has appropriate knowledge and even industrial capacities for the production of combat toxic substances, which chlorine in itself is not. The Syrians regularly register these facts, report to the UN Security Council, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), but all these reports are left without a reaction from the OPCW, which perplexes us," Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department on non-proliferation and arms control issues, told Interfax.
It was reported on Tuesday that a toxic substance was found in the area where the Russian plane was downed. By Tuesday evening, information appeared on the use of chemical weapons in the old city of Aleppo.
Responding to a question as to who uses it, the moderate opposition or the terrorists, Ulyanov said: "It's hard for me to judge who in Syria is moderate opposition and who are radical militants. The borderline is often vague. The information that we get from various sources is still largely connected to those organizations that are regarded as terrorist such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the so-called Islamic State."
"A report by the joint UN-CPCW mechanism to investigate possible use of chemical weapons in Syria is now being prepared. This mechanism was created a year ago and it is expected to report on at least the interim substantive results of its work in August. We should hope that the investigations conducted by officials from this mechanism will cast more light on the facts of the use of chemical weapons in Syria," the diplomat said.
International structures have registered several situations when it is known for a fact that the toxic substances were used by militants, he said.
"According to information provided by some analytical centers, including American, there are dozens of such situations. The only problem is that relevant investigations can often be a success only in a situation if they are conducted promptly, when these chemical substances can still be found and registered. The security situation in Syria is such that prompt work in many, even in most cases is impossible, one of the reasons for that is the risk to international specialists' life," Ulyanov said.
