WASHINGTON, April 13. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Washington dismissed as baseless US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price’s claims about the possibility of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
"We took note of the provocative statements made by Press Secretary of the U.S. Department of State Ned Price at a briefing on April 12 that our country could possibly use chemical weapons in the light of the alleged failures of the special military operation in Ukraine," the embassy said in a statement. "Ned Price once again distinguished himself by his idle talk, not substantiated by a single piece of evidence."
The diplomats noted that the Russian armed forces "do not and cannot have any chemical warfare agents" at their disposal, because Russia eliminated all chemical weapons stockpiles back in 2017.
"The information confirmed by the Russian Defence Ministry on the preparation of provocations by Ukrainian radicals with the use of chemicals is disturbing. We also have questions about the origin of these substances," the statement says.
"We call on Washington to stop spreading disinformation. Instead, colleagues should have intensified the process of chemical demilitarization of their country. The United States remains the only state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention that has not fulfilled the international commitments it made," the statement says. "The American arsenal of weapons of this type poses a real threat to humanity."
Price told reporters on Tuesday that "Russia may seek to resort to chemical weapons" during its special military operation in Ukraine. He claimed, among other things that "Russia’s forces may use a variety of riot-control agents, and that includes tear gas mixed with chemical agents that would cause stronger symptoms."
Russian Defense Ministry’s official spokesman, Major Gen. Igor Konashenkov said earlier that Ukraine’s security service SBU was staging a provocation with the use of toxic substances against civilians. He stressed that the Russian armed forces, engaged in the special military operation in Ukraine, have no chemical weapons at their disposal.