UNITED NATIONS, April 13. /TASS/. Russia and China have submitted to the UN Security Council the draft resolution aimed at preventing the use of chemical weapons by terrorists in Syria, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters on Wednesday.
"We have presented the Russian-Chinese draft resolution on taking a harder line against terrorists who are getting ready to use chemical weapons in Syria," the diplomat said.
Churkin is taking part in a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council dedicated to the use of chemical weapons during the conflict in Syria. The ambassador said he would provide more details on the Russian-Chinese initiative after the end of the meeting.
On April 5, Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya TV channel reported that gunmen of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group had used mustard gas missiles against Syrian government troops in Deir ez-Zor province. After that the U.S. Department of State confirmed that IS was responsible for using small amounts of mustard gas in Iraq and Syria and said it was discussing the issue with Russia.
For his part, UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon voiced concern over terrorists’ possible access to nuclear and chemical materials or even weapons.
In March, Churkin sent a letter to the UN Security Council, in which he called Turkey a key supplier of weapons and military equipment to IS gunmen. He also noted that terrorists had received explosive substances and chemicals worth $1.9 million via Turkey in 2015.