Inspectors’ visit to suspected Syria gas attack site delayed

DAMASCUS - A visit by chemical weapons inspectors to the site of a suspected gas attack in Syria was delayed yesterday, British and Russian officials said, as Western powers and Russia traded accusations in the aftermath of retaliatory U.S.-led missile strikes.

Moscow, the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on Sunday condemned the United States, Britain and France for refusing to wait for the findings of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspection team on the alleged attack on Douma before they launched the strikes.

OPCW inspectors arrived in Damascus on Saturday and had planned to head to Douma, on the outskirts of the capital, yesterday. But the British delegation to the OPCW said Russia and Syria had not yet allowed inspectors access to Douma.

Britain’s Ambassador Peter Wilson said at a news conference in The Hague that the Unit- ed Nations had cleared the inspectors to go but they had been unable to reach Douma because Syria and Russia had been unable to guarantee their safety.

“Unfettered access (is) essential,” a British statement said. “Russia and Syria must cooperate.”

Russia’s deputy foreign minister said the delay was due to the Western strikes.

The U.S. envoy to the global watchdog said Russia may have tampered with the site of the April 7 attack, which aid organisations say killed dozens of men, women and children.

“It is long overdue that this council condemns the Syrian government for its reign of chemical terror and demands international accountability of those responsible for these heinous acts,” U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Ward said in comments seen by Reuters.

The inspectors for the Haguebased OPCW met Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the presence of Russian officers and a senior Syrian security official in Damascus for about three hours on Sunday.

Washington, meanwhile, prepared to increase pressure on Russia with new economic sanctions, and European Union foreign ministers threatened similar measures.

In London and Paris, British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron faced criticism from political opponents over their decisions to take part in the air strikes against Syria.