UNITED NATIONS, February 7. /TASS/. Russia doesn’t recognize the latest report by the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) on the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria’s Douma in 2018 and thinks that the methods used to investigate this incident are beyond any criticism, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said on Tuesday.
"We don’t recognize this report, neither do we recognize this team. Its members don’t even have chemical education. They are lawyers appointed to churn out false reports. From the very beginning, their goal has been to ‘launder’ illegal acts of aggression against Syria in 2017 and 2018. Instead of conducting a comprehensive investigation, this structure has been indulging in repeating ungrounded accusations against a number of states," he said.
"As for the methods of investigation used by the OPCW secretariat, they are often based on information from open sources, which is not backed by data from the site," Nebenzya said. "Their findings are beyond any criticism. The OPCW principles were ignored during the investigation.
The OPCW Investigation and Identification Team released a report on January 27 caliming that the Syrian government army’s Tiger Forces units dropped two cylinders with toxic chlorine gas on two apartment blocks in Douma on April 7, 2018. As a result of the incident, 43 people dies and dozens were affected.