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Russia could invite OPCW experts to see proof Ukraine used chemical weapons — envoy

"We have not invited experts yet, but we do not rule out this scenario," Vladimir Tarabrin said

THE HAGUE, July 15. /TASS/. Russia could invite OPCW experts to show the evidence that Ukraine used chemical weapons, said Vladimir Tarabrin, Russia's envoy to the organization.

"We have not invited experts yet, but we do not rule out this scenario," he said. "If their participation is needed, we will invite them."

"The question is whether they will come because, according to the official position of the OPCW, we are talking about Ukrainian territory, so that would require an invitation from Ukraine," Tarabrin, who also serves as Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, went on to say.

He said no specific plans are being made for the time being.

"That’s because we ourselves are now conducting the necessary investigation," the envoy stated. "But unlike the West and Ukraine, we operate with very carefully verified facts. If there is evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, we will bring it all to the attention of the OPCW technical secretariat and the member states."

According to the diplomat, some steps in this direction will not be long in coming. For example, by the fall, Russia plans to send to the OPCW convincing data proving that Ukraine and its Western handlers violated the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

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