THE HAGUE, July 9. /TASS/. Russia condemns Western countries’ attempts to draw a connection between an alleged chemical incident in Syria and the downing of Russia’s Su-25 attack jet in the country, Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin told TASS on Friday.
"The attempt to draw a contrived connection between the chemical incident and the fact that Russia’s Su-25 plane was downed prior to the incident in Saraqib is outrageous," he said, summing up the results of the OPCW Executive Council meeting on July 6-9. "Such things are absolutely inadmissible, and this was firmly stated during the Executive Council session."
On April 11, the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) presented its second report, stating that Syrian Air Force planes dropped a chlorine-laden bomb on the militant-held town of Saraqib in the Idlib governorate in February 2018. One of the document’s provisions said that revenge for the previously downed Russian Su-25 aircraft was among the most likely motives.
Shulgin went on to say that the Syrian chemical dossier remains among the most acute issues on the OPCW agenda. In his words, while Western nations continued to criticize Syria during the Executive Council meeting, the Russian side focused on the Syrian government’s "unprecedented openness" in relations with the OPCW.
"Our colleagues from the Europe-NATO group prefer to turn a blind eye to this fact, focusing only on criticism," he said. "This clearly illustrates true motives behind their actions: using the organization’s authority to impose their own version of global order, based on rules of responsible conduct which they had invented themselves, and which damage the international law."
Speaking about the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), Shulgin said it is "releasing doubtful reports, which a certain group of nations uses to put pressure on dissenting countries."
"This makes OPCW work even more politicized and sows discord within its ranks," the Russian envoy said.