MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Russia warns Washington against reckless steps in Syria, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in comments to the US accusations that Damascus is allegedly preparing a chemical attack.
"As for Washington’s bellicose rhetoric, we believe it is necessary to warn our US colleagues against further irresponsible steps in violation of the United Nations Charter and the generally recognized norms of the international law as was the case during the April 7 missile strike on Syria’s Shayrat airbase," the ministry said.
If Washington claims that the goal of US military presence in Syria is the war on terror, then "steps taken by them should fully meet anti-terrorist tasks of the international community to fight against the Islamic State (terror group, outlawed in Russia) and groups affiliated with it," it said.
The chemical attacks
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said it views Washington’s statements that Damascus is allegedly preparing a chemical attack in Syria as an "invitation" for terrorists to stage a large-scale provocation.
"We view this new bashing on the issue of weapons of mass destruction - in the worst traditions of NATO’s 2003 intervention in Iraq - as nothing else than an "invitation" for terrorists, extremists and the armed opposition in Syria to stage another large-scale provocation with the use of chemical weapons which, according to Washington’s plans, should be followed by an "inevitable punishment" for Bashar Assad."
The ministry noted that it is easy to predict what happens after such a provocation. "There will be another round of out-of-limit politization of the issue in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague and the UN Security Council in New York with initiatives of sanctions decisions and resolutions against Syria’s legitimate authorities."
The OPCW mission is expected to release its final report confirming the use of sarin in Syria’s Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, the ministry said. "Apparently, no one in the West will wait until the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism, especially created for these goals, completes the investigation."