The West is using a chemical weapons watchdog to justify its aggression – Moscow – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

The latest report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which accuses Damascus of carrying out a chemical attack in Douma in 2018, looks like a political hit intended to justify the West’s continued military aggression. against the Syrian government, according to Alexander Shulgin, Russia’s permanent representative to the organization.

Speaking to RT, Shulgin vehemently rejected the report, which was released in late January by the so-called Investigation and Identification Team (IIT). Call ITI “completely illegitimate” he claimed that the creation of the group was pushed by the United States and its allies in order to undermine the fundamental principles of the OPCW and international law and replace them with their own “invented rules”.

The IIT report, according to Shulgin, is riddled with inconsistencies and factual gaps, and barely holds together. Furthermore, none of the countries of Russia or any other country “uncomfortable” questions about the specifics of the IIT’s findings were even addressed remotely during an OPCW briefing on the report, the ambassador claimed.

Shulgin also noted that the report highlights the double standards currently present within the OPCW. When Russia presented evidence of a chemical attack in Aleppo in 2016, every detail of Moscow’s findings was thoroughly scrutinized by the organization, he said. However, when it comes to the Douma attack, OPCW officials appear to be turning a blind eye to fundamental questions such as how and when evidence was gathered and presented during the investigation.

“For example, they made reference to the fact that a new sample appeared, provided by a third party. What is this third party? Nothing is said about it. They just say ‘trust us’, Shulgin said, noting that the sample in question had never been reported on in previous investigations.

“So before there was no sample, but now all of a sudden it somehow appeared. Without any explanation,” stressed the ambassador, suggesting that its sudden appearance can only be explained by the need for the United States, France and the United Kingdom to escape international responsibility for their aggression against Syria.

The three NATO states launched a series of airstrikes against civilian and military targets in Syria in April 2018 after the so-called “White Helmets” – an NGO operating in rebel-held areas in Syria – released a series of videos purporting to show the aftermath of a chlorine attack on Douma residents.

Syria has vehemently denied responsibility for the incident, and Damascus and Moscow have repeatedly pointed to evidence, including testimonies from alleged victims, that suggest the incident was staged to justify a Western attack. .