US, allies turn OPCW into tool to pursue anti-damascus ends: Syrian FM
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad categorically dismissed the new report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), stating that the United States and its allies have turned the international watchdog into a tool to pursue their political goals against Damascus.
“Despite the difficult situation that Syria is going through, we have stood committed to our membership in the Chemical Weapons Convention,” Syria’s official news agency SANA quoted Mekdad as saying in a meeting with ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions in Damascus on Thursday evening.
“Syria and many other countries have acknowledged that the states which supported and funded armed terrorist groups in Syria, particularly the United States, France, Germany and Britain, will use the Syrian chemical file and the OPCW to achieve their hostile goals against Syria,” he said, Press TV reported.
Mekdad noted that Syrian forces continue to score remarkable victories in their battles against the terrorist groups, emphasizing that the troops have never used chemical warfare even in toughest operations against the foreign-sponsored militants.
He added that certain Western countries have established the OPCW’S so-called Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) in order to produce reports, which best suit their antisyria agenda.
“The French-western draft resolution, which is to be presented at the 25th meeting of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons later this year, is a new chapter in the series of conspiracies against Syria,” Mekdad pointed out.
The top Syrian diplomat finally called on the OPCW member states to support Damascus and counter the politicization of the organization’s activities by some Western countries.
A report by the OPCW’S so-called investigative arm claimed on Monday that Syria’s air force had dropped a chlorine bomb on a residential neighborhood in the terrorist-controlled Idlib region.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry, in a statement published on Wednesday, said the OPCW’S “misleading report,” written by “an illegitimate and incredible team,” fabricates “facts” to incriminate the Damascus government.