The accusations brought against Syria by a group of Western countries at the OPCW are far-fetched and dictated by geopolitical interests, Russia's Permanent Representative to the organization Alexander Shulgin told TASS on Monday following a "Truth and Lies about the use of chemical weapons in Syria" event held on the eve of the resumption of the 25th session of the Conference of the States Parties.
During the session, the diplomat noted, "there is a great probability that Western countries will hold a draft resolution on striking Syria of its rights and privileges under the pretext of Syria's violation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons." "Such a conclusion is inspired by the arguments of the attribution team (investigation and identification team - TASS)," he said. - "We have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that this is a completely illegitimate structure created in violation of the convention and to the detriment of the exclusive prerogatives of the UN Security Council".
"The accusations against Syria are far-fetched," Shulgin stressed. - "They are dictated by the geopolitical agenda of those countries that are pursuing their own narrowly self-serving agenda on the Syrian issue. And if they succeed at the OPCW, they will begin to think about the next steps. They will bring the issue back to the UN for discussion, they will think of ways to start legal cases, whether in national jurisdictions or through international courts."
"It's practically a question of getting a change of government, a change of power in Syria," the Permanent Representative said. - "We hope that those delegations who will begin their work tomorrow and begin to discuss this issue will come to their own, independent opinion and will be able to make a responsible decision".
In the name of justice
For her part, joining the event via video link, Rania al-Rifai, Syrian Chargé d'Affaires to the OPCW, urged countries not to adopt the resolution. "Tomorrow we will discuss the draft resolution submitted by France, the United States, Britain and several other countries against my country and my people," she said. - "We ask not to adopt this resolution not only to support Syria and the Syrian people, but also to support justice."
The diplomat declined, however, to say what steps the country intends to take if the resolution does pass. "We think the right thing to do is to wait and see what happens," al-Rifai stressed. - "No one likes the way the OPCW has been hijacked by a group of countries pursuing their own schemes. There is enormous pressure on many states to vote in favor of this resolution. Even though it is illegal. We'll see how these countries react, how they get rid of the pressure."
Films on Syria
The event also included the presentation of a documentary filmed in Syria called "Tunnel." It describes how Western mythology is formed and how the demonization of the Syrian official authorities takes place on the basis of fabricated information.
"This film shows the truthful side of the conflict, tells how manipulations are organized," Shulgin noted.
The picture is presented as a counterbalance to the film "The Cave," shown Monday by Western countries, which tells the story of doctors working on the opposition-controlled territory.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Mikhail Metzel / TASS
Based on materials from TASS