MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. Militants of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham group (outlawed in Russia) plan to stage a chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib and to blame it on pro-government forces, Deputy Chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria Vadim Kulit told reporters on Tuesday.
In his words, the Russian reconciliation center was informed about Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham’s preparations for staging a chemical attack in the south of the Idlib governorate.
"According to sources, terrorists, accompanied by members of the White Helmets pseudo-humanitarian organization, used a truck to deliver four containers with poisonous substances, presumably chlorine, to the Arihah town area. Therefore, in accordance with the information we had received, the militants plan to stage a ‘chemical attack’ in order to subsequently accuse Syria’s pro-government forces of using toxic substances against the civilian population," Kulit said.
He said the Russian reconciliation center in Syria calls upon commanders of illegal armed groups to refrain from provocations and join the process of peaceful settlement in areas under their control.