Damascus-SANA
Syria's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Ambassador Milad Attia, confirmed that Syria does not recognize the organization's "investigation and identification team" nor its previous and subsequent reports, because it was established based on pressure exerted by the United States, France and Britain for their own purposes, in clear violation of the ban agreement. Once again, asking the Technical Secretariat to stop its bias towards Western positions and not to issue misleading and authentic reports about those prepared for it by Western countries and “Israel” against Syria.
Attia said during a press conference today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: We followed the issuance of the third report of the so-called “Investigation and Identification Team” in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which accuses Syria of using chemicals in the alleged Douma incident on April 7, 2018, stressing that Syria does not It recognizes the team and neither the reports issued by it previously nor those that will be issued later, because it was established based on pressure exerted by the United States, France and Britain for their own purposes, in clear and explicit violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Attia explained that Syria ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2013, and based on a voluntary and strategic decision, it destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons in a record time of “six months” despite the difficult circumstances it was going through, and the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed this matter. He pointed out that Syria has always renewed its firm position in condemning the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anyone and under any circumstances.
Attia indicated that Syria cooperated with the Ban Organization, facilitated the visits of its teams to all regions and places that they requested to visit, and provided all the facilities and protection required for the success of its tasks and work despite the difficult circumstances imposed by the war on Syria, pointing out that there are many violations and serious defects in the methods of work and investigations. The fact-finding mission affected the credibility of its reports and prevented it from carrying out its role, mandate, and the stipulations of the agreement, in addition to not adhering to the terms of reference that were agreed upon between Syria and the technical secretariat of the organization.
The permanent representative of Syria to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons indicated that the decision adopted by the fourth special session of the Conference of the States Parties on June 27, 2018, according to which the so-called “Investigation and Identification Team” was established constituted a dangerous turning point in the history of the organization, because it reflected the state of politicization. What the United States and Western countries are doing to push the organization to engage in political aspects, and to interfere in the affairs of countries whose policies do not agree with the policy of Washington and its allies.
Attia explained that at that time, less than half of the 82 member states out of 193 countries voted in favor of the aforementioned resolution, and the positions of the countries that voted against it, abstained from voting or were absent from it were not taken into account, and this team made no effort to put its reports aside from approving Western sources and terrorist organizations such as the “Nusra Front” and its affiliated “White Helmets” lacked objective evidence and did not enjoy the minimum level of objectivity and scientific and professional foundations. Rather, it relied on fabricated and misleading scenarios presented by Western intelligence agencies.
Attia stated that the report was based mostly on information he obtained from countries hostile to Syria and some other entities and “open sources”, which are media outlets and social networking sites run by terrorist organizations, including the “Al-Nusra Front” that is on the Security Council’s list of terrorist entities, in addition to information from Intelligence sources belonging to countries hostile to Syria, all participated in the fabrication of this alleged incident and other incidents to accuse Syria of using chemicals.
Attia pointed out that the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Turkey and Qatar, in addition to other countries, rushed to issue statements full of misleading and distorting the facts about the aforementioned report, which are false accusations aimed at increasing pressure and escalating Western stances hostile to Syria, stressing that these countries are the same ones that practiced aggression against Syria in all its forms and supported terrorist groups, including ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra, with all military, logistical, media and intelligence means, in an attempt to destroy the Syrian state.
Syria's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons stated that the United States, Britain and France launched a few days after the alleged Douma incident on April 14, 2018, a barbaric tripartite aggression against Syrian territory, under false pretexts and even without waiting for any investigations into this incident, and now those countries are investing in this. The report issued by the Ban Organization to justify its aggression against Syria at the time and to increase political pressure and impose more sanctions and unjust siege on the Syrian people to prevent Syria from proceeding with the process of rebuilding what was destroyed by their terrorist war against it.
Attia indicated that the scenarios and fabrications of Syria using chemicals in some areas that were under the control of terrorist groups are not new, as these groups and their supporters were promoting these fabrications before every meeting of the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, or the Ban Organization, to influence public opinion and prevent the Syrian state. From advancing in those areas to liberate them from terrorism, impose their control over them, and remove civilians who have suffered the worst kinds of suffering due to the practices of terrorist groups.
Attia renewed Syria's demand for the technical secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to stop its bias towards Western positions and not to issue misleading reports and replicas of those prepared for it by Western countries and “Israel” against Syria, in order to preserve the organization's credibility, professionalism, impartiality, and future, and the need to preserve its technical nature and prevent cases of politicization and polarization. And the hegemony exercised by Western countries in the organization to achieve political goals.
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