Western countries are creating a mechanism at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to discredit unwanted governments, Russian Permanent Representative Alexander Shulgin said on Tuesday at a conference of the OPCW member states.
"Through the efforts of Western countries, a mechanism is being created at the OPCW to discredit unwanted states," he said. - "It is a simple scheme: provocations are organized with the help of sponsored NGOs, especially the notorious White Helmets. All this is actively promoted by the leading Western media, and then the OPCW structure is involved in order to legalize these fakes. Shulgin stressed that the apotheosis of such actions was the "draft decision on Syria, unprecedented for the OPCW and the Chemical Weapons Convention," which deprives the country of a number of rights and privileges.
"The approval of the submitted document would set a dangerous precedent and lead to the deepest split in the OPCW," the Permanent Representative said. - "Such an outcome would alienate us from the universalization of the convention and would have a most negative impact on the prospects of the global nonproliferation and disarmament regime." With this in mind, Shulgin appealed to states "that are genuinely concerned about the fate of the organization to make a balanced, correct choice" in the vote on the resolution scheduled for Wednesday.
"The upcoming vote is extremely important for the fate of the OPCW: whether it will remain as an authoritative international organization or turn into a platform for manipulation and realization of ambitions of individual countries," he stated. - "In this case, the name of the OPCW itself will become nominal. Children will be frightened by this name, indicating injustice and arbitrariness of some states. The way forward and the future will depend on the will of the people".
The resolution in question was submitted to the OPCW members at the initiative of France and was supported by 46 states. The reason for its preparation was the report of the investigation and identification team, which was published on April 8, 2020. The document claims that the Syrian authorities are responsible for three incidents with toxic substances that took place in the locality of Al-Lataminah in Homs province in March 2017.
The resolution provides for Syria's ineligibility to vote in the Conference of States Parties and the executive board, to be elected to the board, and to hold any Conference, executive board and subsidiary body events on its territory.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS