Great Britain, Belgium, Estonia, Germany, France and Poland supported the report of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team, which accused the official Damascus of using chemical weapons in Syria in 2017.
"We fully support the report's conclusions… We strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian air force, as stated in the report. Those responsible for the use of chemical weapons should be held accountable for these reprehensible actions," a joint statement of six countries reads.
An informal interactive dialogue in the UN Security Council on chemical weapons in Syria was held on May 12. The event was closed, and the permanent missions of Russia and China did not participate, but OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias took part.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia at a press conference noted that despite open criticism of the "illegal nature of the Investigation and Identification Team", Russia was not against the OPCW Director General's speech to the Security Council on the topic of the report, but advocated that the meeting be held in open mode.
"Unfortunately, our Western partners and their allies insisted on holding this meeting behind closed doors, despite slogans about the openness and transparency of the Security Council. This approach is unacceptable for us, as it undermines the right of the countries participating in the chemical weapons Convention and the OPCW governing bodies, which are not given the opportunity to get acquainted with the content of this meeting," RIA Novosti quotes the Russian diplomat.
That is why, according to Nebenzia, Russia decided not to participate in this meeting and objects to the practice of interacting with the Director-General of the OPCW "behind the back of the majority of members of the Organization".
The OPCW published a report on the investigation of chemical attacks in Syria in 2017 on April 8. According to the investigation team's findings, airstrikes in Hama province using chlorine and sarin shells were carried out by the Syrian air force.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the report contained fake and fabricated conclusions, the purpose of which was to distort the facts and accuse the Syrian authorities.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the report was commissioned under political pressure from Western countries.
Russia and the Syrian government have repeatedly accused the OPCW of biased investigations of incidents in the territory of the Arab Republic and questioned the conclusions made by the OPCW Technical Secretariat. The Syrian authorities have stated that they have never used chemical weapons against civilians and terrorists, and the entire chemical arsenal of the country was removed from Syria under the control of the OPCW.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation