BEIRUT, September 5. /TASS/. The United States hampered an unbiased probe into the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian city of Douma in April of 2018 to twist the facts and justify its attack on Syria, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Envoy to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin said on Tuesday.

According to the Russian diplomat, the United States and its allies blamed Syria for the incident to justify their aggression.

"The Americans are seeking to turn the OPCW into an instrument for reaching their political goals," the SANA news agency quoted him as saying at a news conference in Damascus. "The United States and its allies have enormous influence on the organization, but Russia has always rejected their reports, drawn up in violation of international standards."

He recalled that the OPCW released three reports full of lies and hostility toward Syria in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

On September 3, the Russian diplomat met with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Damascus to discuss coordinating their countries’ efforts within the OPCW to resist pressure from Western countries.

On August 26, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the statements by the French and US envoys to the OPCW accusing Syrian government forces of using chemical weapons in Eastern Ghouta in 2013. Damascus also rejected all other allegations linked with chemical weapons.