MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. The Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons continues to procrastinate on the investigation of chemical attacks in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.
"We state once again that the OPCW Technical Secretariat continues to use far-fetched pretexts to procrastinate on the investigation of chemical attacks by Syria’s armed opposition, although Damascus regularly informs the OPCW and the UN Security Council about such cases," she said.
As an example, Zakharova mentioned the November 24, 2018 chemical attack in Syria’s Aleppo.
"It’s nearly two years since the incident. However, the Technical Secretariat is still unable to complete the investigation and continues to put forward extra preconditions addressed to the Syrian side," she said.
Zakharova recalled that Damascus had presented to the OPCW all the necessary information and continues to demonstrate its full openness and readiness for cooperation.
She stressed that by procrastinating on the investigation the OPCW violated the Chemical Weapons Convention. This policy, Zakharova said, is clear evidence of the OPCW Technical Secretariat’s bias and the organization’s readiness to act on "politically-motivated orders from individual states, which in pursuit of their geopolitical interests in the Middle East have repeatedly used military force against Syria in violation of the UN Charter."
On November 24, 2018 militants in the de-escalation zone in Idlib province attacked Aleppo’s residential areas with shells containing a poisonous substance, presumably chlorine. After that, according to Syrian medics, more than 70 people were taken to hospital. The news agency SANA said 107 civilians were brought to hospitals. Russian Aerospace Force planes wiped out the terrorists who shelled the city. On January 8, 2019 OPCW specialists were dispatched to Syria.