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US denies access to chemical facilities as it has something to hide — Foreign Ministry

Russian Foreign Ministry's office Valery Sharifulin/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry's office
© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The United States is blocking a trip of Russian specialists to a facility for the destruction of chemical weapons in Colorado as it has something to hide, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on Tuesday.

"The behavior of the Czech permanent representative (Jana Reinisova), holding the chairmanship of the OPCW Executive Council, causes outrage in connection with a trip of an Executive Council’s delegation to the facility to destroy chemical weapons in the US state of Colorado. Within the framework of inspection mechanisms in effect, the Russian side has a full right to visit US chemical facilities, as US representatives were doing in due time in Russia without being hindered. However, when the question came up about a visit of Russian specialists to the US, Jana Reinisova practically blocked such possibility," the ministry said.

The reason behind such behavior of the US and the chairperson is quite clear, it stressed. "Washington, from where a respective command obviously came, does not what Russia to check US compliance with the commitments to destroy chemical weapons. This means they have something to hide," the ministry stated.

The ministry said that the US Department of State responded negatively to a direct appeal of the Russian side in that respect.

Moscow also drew attention to Reinisova’s ‘active manipulations’ during the February and March sessions of the OPCW Executive Council, when Americans and their allies rejected a Russian proposal to make additions to the list of substances subject to control within the framework of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

"In violation of Organization’s procedures, Jana Reinisova openly played along with the West that had impeded Russia’s attempts to get additional explanations on a strongly controversial report on the investigation into the chlorine incident in the Syrian city of Douma in April of last year, that came as a pretext for missile strikes of the US and its allies against Syria in violation of fundamental rules and principles of international law," the ministry added.

"We will continue to insistently expose a shady game of the US and its allies in a very serious matter that bears a direct relation to maintaining the integrity of the Chemical Weapons Convention," it summed up.

Incident in Douma

A number of non-governmental organizations, including the White Helmets, alleged that chemical weapons were used in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, on April 7, 2018. According to a statement uploaded to the organization’s website on April 8, 2018, chlorine bombs had been dropped on the city, which caused dozens of fatalities. Many other civilians were rumored to have been taken to hospital.

The Russian Defense Ministry dismissed this as fake news.

On April 14, 2018, the US, the UK and France delivered massive missile strikes at targets in Syria without authorization of the UN Security Council. Missiles hit a research center in Damascus, the headquarters of the Republican Guard, an air defense base, several military airbases, and army depots. Washington, London and Paris claimed the strikes had come as a response to an alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma.