MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. The attack on Syria carried out by the US-led coalition is not only aimed at discrediting Damascus but is also an attempt to deal a blow to the peace process, Head of Russia’s Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, said at a meeting of the upper house of parliament on Wednesday.

"All signs in Syria indicate that the situation is returning to normal. The peace process is gaining momentum. This provocation is apparently aimed at discrediting Syria’s authorities and dealing a blow to this political process," he said.

He recalled that the West was trying to stage a provocation in Syria for the second time in a year. According to the Russian senator, fake news reports about the chemical attack in Syria’s Douma allegedly carried out by Damascus began to fall apart once the Syrian authorities backed by Russia demanded that the incident be investigated. After that, a missile attack on the alleged chemical weapons warehouses followed. "Due to actions by the US and its allies, militants have once again stepped up their activities," Kosachev noted.

He added that the OPCW experts had to urgently reconsider their plans to travel to the facilities they were going to inspect.