All news

Russian MP slams claims of potential Syria chemical attack as another provocation

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement on Monday that the US "has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime"

SEOUL, June 27. /TASS/. New claims by the US that Damascus is allegedly devising another chemical weapons attack are nothing more than provocations that will weigh on Washington’s conscience, Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky told reporters on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement on Monday that the US "has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children."

"I’m sure that these allegations are provocations, and should this be the case, God help us all, and another chemical attack occurs and (Syrian President Bashar) Assad is accused of this, it will be followed by US Air Force’s airstrikes targeting Assad’s army - all this is a new round of provocations," said Slutsky, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament).

"If people die then, either Syrian government troops or God forbid, civilians, all that will weigh on the conscience of our American partners and I once again call on them not to stage such provocations," Slutsky said on the sidelines of a meeting among parliamentary speakers from Eurasian states in South Korea’s capital of Seoul.

The attempt to soil the image of Assad’s government all over the global media and political landscape will come at the expense of unnecessary civilian deaths, the lawmaker said, voicing hope that this wouldn’t happen. "This behavior is shameful and incompatible with the norms of international law."

The incident involving the alleged use of chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun in the Idlib province took place on April 4. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Syrian aircraft struck terrorists’ workshops that were producing chemical agents. Washington accused Damascus of using chemical weapons, after which the US Navy delivered a missile strike in the small hours of April 7 on a Syrian military airfield in the province of Homs.