While world media are discussing the coronavirus pandemic and the abolition of quarantine measures in various states, the West has decided to raise an old and highly controversial topic of chemataks in Syria. They just brought it up in a very strange way.
The issues of the use of chemical weapons in Syria have been circulating for a long time, but not so actively lately – it is clear that Washington no longer has any interest in the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. However, this has not prevented Western countries from cowardly supporting the report of OPCW investigators who accused official Damascus of using chemical weapons.
The report itself was made public more than a month ago. It stated that the Syrian Air Force was allegedly responsible for “a series of chemical attacks using sarin and chlorine at the end of March 2017 in the city of Al-Latamna”.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that those involved in the use of chemical weapons in al-Latamn – sarin on 24 and 30 March 2017, as well as chlorine on 25 March 2017 – belonged to the Syrian Air Force”, – said the coordinator of the Santiago Onate Laborde investigation team.
The same report stated that on 24 March 2017, a Syrian Air Force Su-22 took off from Shairat Air Base in Homs province and dropped a sarin bomb in southern al-Latamna. A day later, the Syrian helicopter is believed by OPCW to have dropped a cylinder of chlorine on the city hospital, and on 27 March, an Su-22 aircraft allegedly again detonated a sarin bomb in the southern part of the city.
“The Investigation and Identification Team’s report added to the extensive and growing body of evidence that the Al-Assad regime is carrying out chemical attacks in Syria as part of a targeted campaign of violence against the Syrian people”, – the head of the State Department commented on the situation.
Only Michael Pompeo talked about the evidence, as there was no such evidence. In fact, this explains the further actions of Western countries. As might be expected, the report of the investigation group was supported. It was done by the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland and Estonia. It is noteworthy that the decision was taken at a meeting of a behind-the-scenes nature, but at the level of the UN Security Council. The meeting was so closed that Russia and China did not take part in it. Does it have to be said that all this calls into question the transparency of the United Nations?
The fact is that the meeting was held with the participation of OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias, who was to voice all anti-Syrian “arguments”. But Russia insisted that the event should be public, and everyone could hear what the allegations were based on. Instead, the public received not transparency, but the verdict of six countries that “fully support the conclusions of the report”. On what these findings are based, it is a minor matter.
“We strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Air Force, as stated in the report. Those involved in the use of chemical weapons must be held accountable for these reprehensible actions”, – the Western communiqué said.
Eugene Gaman, specially for News Front