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Russia seeks unbiased investigation into Syria’s Khan Shaykhun incident

International experts who should have visited the scene to establish the truth and avoid any speculations on the issue failed to do that, the Russian diplomat noted

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russia will continue seeking an impartial and thorough investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria’s Khan Shaykhun on April 4, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"No one has so far visited the scene of the tragedy, neither the mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons nor the OPCW-United Nations Joint Mechanism for investigating these cases. This is an unprecedented incident," the diplomat stressed.

International experts who should have visited the scene to establish the truth and avoid any speculations on the issue failed to do that, she noted. "They still adamantly refuse to visit the Shayrat airbase, continuing to associate it absolutely unfoundedly with the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Air Force," Zakharova noted.

"Russia is dissatisfied by this situation. We will continue consistently seeking an investigation into the Khan Shaykhun incident and other ongoing chemical provocations against the legal authorities in Syria," she said, insisting that this should be both a professional and unbiased investigation.

The incident involving the alleged use of chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun 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 Shayrat in the province of Homs.