© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Any unilateral or multilateral sanctions against Damascus will only weaken the international anti-terrorist front. This is stated in the statement published on the foreign Ministry website.

On 28 February there was a vote in the UN Security Council in which Russia and China vetoed proposed by great Britain, France and the United States draft resolution on the introduction of sanctions against Syria under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. “Against” voted and Bolivia, and Egypt, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia abstained .

See also

The permanent representative of France: the voting in the UN security Council will not affect talks on Syria in Geneva

Ambassador to China: vote in the UN security Council would negatively affect talks on Syria in Geneva

Russia and China vetoed a UN security Council resolution with sanctions against Syria

“It is now imperative for all should be the fight against ISIL (“Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant” – the former name is forbidden in Russia grouping “Islamic state” – approx. TASS) and other terrorist entities in Syria. Any unilateral or multilateral sanctions against Damascus will only weaken the international anti-terrorist front,” – said in a statement Russian dipvedomstva.

“There is no doubt that such initiatives on the grounds of the UN security Council and the OPCW can make a negative impact on the prospects for a political settlement in Syria, the negotiations on 23 February was restarted in Geneva, – stressed in dipvedomstva. – The damage and working to establish intra-Syrian dialogue, productively started in Astana”.

An attempt to split the UN security Council

As outlined in the statement of the Russian Ministry, “all these arguments of the Russian side cited in the consultations on the draft resolution over the past few months.”

“However, the Western “Troika” consciously and explicitly for purposes of provocation went to the split in the UN security Council and the stuffing of the project, knowing that it is for Russia (and not only) is unacceptable and will be vetoed, said depodesta. – The search for compromise solutions co-authors of this document strongly deviated. It is obvious that their aim was not the search for effective common solutions, and polarization of approaches and the aggravation of the situation”.

The Ministry also expressed its appreciation to the member States of the UN security Council, “which, realizing the inappropriateness and untimeliness of such actions, correctly assessing the severity of the emergency outgoing from the region of the threats of terrorism, including its chemical component found it necessary to oppose or disagree with this harmful “initiative”.

“For Russia, as for other States, objectively evaluating the situation with the use of chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq, the concept presented to the Western “Troika” of the permanent members of the UN security Council document was totally unacceptable,” stressed the Minister.

“The draft resolution was flawed and one-sided. Syrian sanctions list of individuals and legal entities not backed by any facts in the reports of the CMP and was totally arbitrary,” – said in a statement.

The reports of the OPCW

The Russian foreign Ministry recalled that the starting point for Franco-British draft resolution is sponsored by third and fourth reports of the Joint OPCW – UN to investigate cases of chemical weapons use in Syria (CMP), in which it has been suggested that the blame for the 2014-2015 chlorine against civilians in the three cases are the armed forces of the SAR, one for the use of mustard gas – IG.

“Well-known share not only with Russia, skeptical assessment made by experts SMR findings, the statement of the foreign Ministry. In their papers from the point of view of law enforcement practice does not contain any convincing evidence, on the basis of which to press any charges not only against the official Damascus, but even ISIS.”

Moreover, toxic chemicals are widely used in Syria, “Jabhat EN-Nusra” (a terrorist group is banned in Russia), as well as numerous factions of the Syrian armed opposition, including for purposes of provocation – to discredit the armed forces and the leadership of this country, the document says.

“The possession of terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq with chemical weapons – not “revelation” for anyone,” said the Russian foreign Ministry. Thus, representatives of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition regularly report on the destruction of chemical laboratories militants in Iraq.

Damascus in December 2016 to the expert of the OPCW samples and other tangible evidence, taken by the Russian military in the province of Aleppo in relation to the there September 16 last year, a terrorist attack using a full chemical warfare agent, mustard gas. “With the direct assistance of Italian partners of the samples in January were taken to the headquarters of the OPCW in the Hague, which is examining them”, – noted in the Ministry.

“We have no doubt that the purpose of the CMP activities a number of Western countries see to find a way to hold the government of Bashar al-Assad responsible for the use of chemical weapons and pave the way for regime change in Damascus – said in a statement dipvedomstva. A year ago this was raised by some colleagues for “five” in new York”.

Nevertheless, Russia agreed to extend the work of the IDA for another year, convinced that the use of chemical weapons in this volatile region – an extremely dangerous trend that threatens to go beyond the Middle East, reminded the Minister. Moscow proceeds from the fact that “the Mechanism will develop its work in an impartial basis and based exclusively on reliable facts and not assumptions, speculation, fake and frankly fabricated by the Syrian opposition without the involvement from the outside.”

On the activities of the CMP

The Russian foreign Ministry expects that, as required by UN security Council resolution 2319 (2016), extending the mandate of the CMP, the activity of the Mechanism “will apply to neighboring States with Syria and at the same time get a real anti-terrorist content.”

“In many ways, still to be sorted out, including giving the possibility to Damascus in accordance with its obligations under Article VII of the CWC to bring to a logical conclusion the national inquiry into a comprehensive verification set out in the SMR reports the facts,” urged the foreign Ministry.

While a number of States parties to the CWC on 11 November 2016 managed not inherent to the OPCW by consensus, by voting to push anti-Syrian sanctions the decision of the Executive Council of the Organization, said in a statement the Russian foreign Ministry. It recalls that on 12 January 2017 Washington against Damascus imposed new unilateral sanctions.

“This, apparently, was not enough. An attempt was made to “implement” these sanctions in the draft resolution of the UN security Council”, – stated the Minister.