WASHINGTON, March 2. /TASS/. Claims made by representatives of the US administration about the intention to hold Moscow responsible for chemical weapons being allegedly employed by Damascus demonstrate a cynical attitude, Russia’s embassy in the United States said in a statement on Thursday.
"The sweeping propaganda campaign waged by Washington, blaming Russia for failing to fulfill its obligations in Syria, suggests that it is not care for civilian Syrians, but a cold-blooded political premeditation that is behind it: to keep an enclave of extremists by all means in the suburb of the Syrian capital," the embassy said. Meanwhile, Washington "continues to make ungrounded claims that Damascus uses chemical agents, as an instrument of anti-Syria geopolitical engineering," the diplomatic mission said.
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"The latest statements made by representatives of the administration about the intention to hold Russia responsible for chemical weapons being allegedly employed by Damascus demonstrate a particularly cynical attitude. This comes as the administration itself admits there is no evidence regarding the issue. There has never been any," the statement said.
Russia’s embassy has also warned the US against the temptation to use false reports "as a pretext for missile attacks on Syrian government facilities."
The UN Security Council last Saturday voted for a resolution demanding all parties to the conflict in Syria should terminate hostilities at least for 30 days for providing relief aid to the population. All fifteen members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, supported the resolution. The truce will not apply to military operations against the group Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) and other terrorist organizations.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said earlier this week, that on instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin daily humanitarian pauses were introduced in Eastern Ghouta (a suburb of Damascus) from 09:00 to 14:00 local time starting from February 27. In the village of Al-Wafideen the Syrian authorities and Russia’s center for the reconciliation of conflicting parties have created conditions for the accommodation of civilians who may decide to use the sole humanitarian corridor connecting Damascus and Eastern Ghouta.