MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The report presented by the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is politically charged and factually inaccurate, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.
The diplomat recalled that the IIT came to a conclusion in its report that Syria’s Air Force allegedly used toxic chemicals against the civilian population in Ltamenah in 2017.
"Basing on the evidence, we informed the OPCW that the report turned out to be biased, politically motivated, factologically inaccurate, extremely weak from a professional point of view, and technically unconvincing," Zakharova stressed. "Russia and other states - members of the Chemical Weapons Convention - are firmly convinced that the creation - upon an initiative of the US-led group of ‘concerned’ states - of an illegitimate attributive mechanism in the form of the IIT, where representatives of the Western countries dominate, runs counter to the Convention provisions."
Zakharova added that the activity "of that quasi-prosecution body" interferes with the exclusive authority of the United Nations Security Council.
"The goal of that geopolitical ‘project’ is evident, as it aims to undermine the positions of the government [of Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad through political manipulations and insinuations," she said. "This flawed and malicious approach is outrageous."
"The organization should not remain a hostage to the states imposing their mercenary agenda," the diplomat warned. "If their activities are not stopped, the OPCW could find itself completely paralyzed.".