The United Kingdom on Thursday dismissed as a stunt Russia’s attempt to show that no one died in this month’s suspected chemical attack in Syria.
Russia presented 17 Syrians at the headquarters of an international monitor based in Europe to argue that the recently reported chemical weapons attack was staged.
“No one has died,” Ahmad Kashoi, a Syrian hospital official, was quoted by Russian media as saying. “No one suffered from chemical exposure.”
Russia and Syria maintain that evidence of the attack, which reportedly killed dozens and wounded hundreds of others, was faked to justify U.S.-led strikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons program. But Western officials derided the briefing as a mockery of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which has deployed a team of investigators to the scene of the incident.
“Russia and Syria’s briefing at the OPCW premises today is a stunt,” Peter Wilson, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the agency, said Thursday. “The OPCW is not a theater. Russia’s decision to misuse it is yet another Russian attempt to undermine the OPCW’s work, and in particular the work of its Fact Finding Mission investigating chemical weapons use in Syria.”
OPCW officials opposed Russia’s determination to hold the briefing, which took place one day after investigators reached the second of two sites where chemical weapons were reportedly used in early April.
“The Secretariat advised the Russian delegation that these persons should be first interviewed by the [Fact-Finding Mission],” the OPCW said Wednesday. “It was also recommended that such a briefing take place once the FFM has completed its work. Nevertheless, the Russian delegation stated that it would go ahead with the briefing and that its intention was not to interfere with the FFM’s work.”
Russia said six of the people brought to OPCW headquarters at The Hague had already been interviewed by the OPCW. “The others were ready too, but the experts are sticking to their own guidelines,” Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin said.
The press conference was reminiscent of Russia’s posture when the OPCW first tried to reach the attack sites in Syria. Russia, which had previously guaranteed their security, delayed the investigators’ trip due to “pending security issues,” offering instead to allow them to speak to Syrian residents presented by Assad’s regime. British Prime Minister Theresa May responded by accusing Russia and Syria of trying to clean up evidence of the gas attack.
“Widespread reports of intimidation of witnesses to the Douma attack is a cause for real concern,” Wilson said. “The Director General has asked states to supply information about the Douma attack to his Fact Finding Mission. Russia and Syria should do so, instead of waging a propaganda campaign of misinformation.”
