Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin accused the United States of preparing new provocations involving chemical weapons to discredit the Syrian leadership against the background of the normalization of Arab-Syrian relations. His statement was cited by the SVR press office on Monday.
"Biden's team is doing everything to derail the Arab-Syrian normalization, to discredit the Syrian leadership. To this end, provocations are being prepared, including with the use of chemical warfare agents. According to data available to the Russian SVR, practice drills for testing these agents were conducted this May in Syria's Idlib province by fighters of the local wing of Al Qaeda controlled by the CIA - Hurras ad-Din, and also extremists from Islamic party of Turkistan. About 100 civilians were poisoned," Naryshkin was quoted as saying by the press service office.
Naryshkin said: "The Americans have not forgotten their ISIS wards in the south of Syria: they have received rockets with warheads filled with toxic substances." According to the SVR, the missiles were deployed near the villages of Al-Khawiya and Al-Zawriyah, not far from the Al-Tanf base of the US Armed Forces. This place has become a real "nest of bandits." "A US-British 'joint intelligence committee' was recently established there, which in reality serves as headquarters for controlling the activities of fighters in the south of Syria and in the Damascus region. It is headed by James Melloy, deputy commander of the Central Command of the US Armed Forces," the SVR said in a statement.
According to the Russian intelligence service, the Anglo-Americans are preparing to strengthen their schemes with a powerful media campaign in order to show the countries of the Arab world that their choice in favor of resuming a dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad was a "strategic mistake," and those who disagree with such an approach are directly threatened with sanctions.
Naryshkin reminded that Syria's relations with other Arab countries are gaining momentum - after the historic Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, Damascus, like before 2011, is once again receiving guests from almost the entire Arab world, dialogue is being established on a range of issues: from combating terrorism to Syria's economic recovery, which will improve the situation in the Middle East and allow millions of Syrian refugees to return home. But such a prospect, according to the SVR, clearly does not suit the US administration. "It is clear that in reality the criminal mistake is being made by the West itself. What it will surely succeed in doing is in cementing its reputation in the Middle East as an instigator of instability. However, almost no one in the region doubts this anymore," stresses Naryshkin.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS