MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. The Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (banned in Russia) is plotting to carry out another provocation in Syria with the use of toxic chemical agents against civilians, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on Friday.
"Intelligence was received from a reliable source that the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group, which operates in Syria, is preparing to carry out another provocation using poisonous substances under a well-established scenario with the participation of pseudo-humanitarian [activists] from the White Helmets. The chemicals they are currently stockpiling in the Idlib northern de-escalation zone are supposed to be used against the civilian population," the diplomat revealed.
She says that it is well-known that "the terrorist groups operating in Syria, and their accomplices, at the behest of their foreign handlers, have resorted to the tactic of staged chemical attacks."
"Responsibility for these provocations, as part of the propaganda campaigns that are whipped up afterwards, is invariably pinned on the Syrian government," she added.
"In the run-up to an important milestone in the life of the Syrian state - the presidential election in Syria set for May 26 - the threat of such dirty methods (staged chemical attacks - TASS) is on the rise. In this regard, we hope that the release of the aforementioned information will probably help disrupt those criminal plans and help avert the deaths of innocent people," Zakharova stressed.