MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. Western media prefer to drown in oblivion the proven fact of the use of chemical weapons by terrorists in Syria, the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev told Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily on Thursday.
He said it when the reporter asked him about the whole situation around the incident where a nerve agent, allegedly Sarin, was used in Idlib Governorate.
"It’s quite noteworthy Western media continue shying away from any references to the proven facts of the use of highly toxic chemical substances by terrorists, including in Aleppo," Patrushev said.
"A natural question arises, namely, why are the charges with the nerve gas incident issued to Bashar Assad instead of establishing who really used it?" he said. "Who is getting benefits from it? Why does the struggle with terrorism is substituted for with counteraction to a sovereign government that is waging a war against the Islamic State and other rogues?"
In order to get the answers to these questions, he called for an attentive analysis of the steps taken to assist ceasefire and political settlement in Syria.
"Russia strongly condemns any use of chemical weapons," Patrushev said. "The individuals guilty of such crimes should be brought to strict accountability."
"That’s why we have been insisting - at the UN Security Council and at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - on holding a close and unbiased investigation of the supposed chemical incident in Khan-Shaykhun on April 4," he said.