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Conflict in Syria

Tillerson claims Russia failed to implement 2013 deal on destroying Syria’s chemical arms

"So either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been incompetent in its ability to deliver," US Secretary of State told reporters

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

© AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

WASHINGTON, April 7. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson claims that Russia has failed to meet its commitments under the 2013 deal on destroying Syrian chemical weapons.

Read also

Moscow insists chemical weapons were not used in Syria's Idlib

"Clearly Russia has failed to deliver on that commitment from 2013," Tillerson told reporters in Florida. "So either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been incompetent in its ability to deliver."

Damascus agreed to pass its chemical weapons to the international community for subsequent destruction in 2013 in the framework of a deal struck between Moscow and Washington. The deal was confirmed by the UN Security Council’s resolution, which warned that in case anyone uses chemical weapons in Syria, measures will be taken, including sanctions and use of military force.

The NBC TV channel reported earlier that the US military fired at least 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a military base of the Syrian government forces in Homs governorate in western Syria. The Tomahawk cruise missiles were intended for a single target - the Shayrat Airfield from which the US intelligence believes the alleged April 4 chemical attack had been carried out.

Later, US President Donald Trump confirmed that he gave an order to deliver the strike.

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Syrian conflict

Middle East conflict

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