The United Kingdom’s delegation to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Thursday said that Russia and the Assad regime were trying to undermine the work of the fact-finding mission on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
“It is outrageous that Russia and Syria are trying to undermine work of FFM on CW use in Syria,” said the UK delegation in comments on Twitter on the sidelines of the 89th session of OPCW’s Executive Council being held in The Hague.
Moscow has publicly threatened it would end the work of the organization after it confirmed the involvement of the Assad regime in chemical attacks in Syria claiming the lives of thousands of civilians.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) has already gathered evidence on the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons in 215 occasions since 2011 despite claims that it had completely disposed of its stockpiles of chemical weapons.
The Network noted that Russia’s help for the Assad regime is not limited to the use of chemical weapons as its forces have been involved in the bloodletting of the Syrian people. Last month, the Network said that at least 6,239 civilians have been killed in attacks by the Russian forces since the start of the Russian direct military intervention in Syria on September 30, 2015.
The Syrian Coalition said that Russia is seeking to cover up the Assad regime’s crimes against Syrian civilians and undermine international efforts to hold to account those responsible for the widespread war crimes that took place in the country over the past several years.
The Coalition pointed out that no one can cover up the Assad regime’s crimes or rehabilitate it at the regional or international level. Such attempts will only undermines chances of reaching a political solution and the restoration of stability to the country. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
