© REUTERS/ Murad Sezer
On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry has accused the US and the UK of supplying CS, CN toxic agents to terrorists.
According to Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the toxic agents found in Aleppo and Damascus suburb were
produced by one British company and two American companies.
"The special equipment found consisted of
hand grenades and rounds for grenade launchers equipped with CS and CN toxic agents [...] The chemical munitions were produced by the Federal Laboratories company in the US. The toxic agents were produced by Cherming Defence UK and NonLethal Technologies (US)," Syrian Deputy Foreign Minsiter Faisal Mekdad said.
According to the deputy foreign minister, the
poisonous substances were
found in the storehouses of the militants in Aleppo and in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.
Mekdad noted that in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of
Chemical Weapons, the use of toxic agents is permitted only to combat riots.
It is prohibited to use them in warfare.
"So, we can say for sure that the US and UK as well as its allies in the region violate the Chemical Weapons Convention. They support terrorist organizations operating in Syria. They deliver to the militants not only armaments but also prohibited toxic agents," the deputy foreign minister added.
Comment: The State Department
says they're "aware" of the accusations, adding that they condemn CWs and that their use would be a violation of international standards and norms. Maria Zakharova said it's "beyond understanding" that such a thing could have taken place. Russian MP Leonid Slutsky says Syria has the right to
address the UN over the issue:
"Syria now has all the reasons and the right to address the United Nations over western-produced chemical weapons found on the territories liberated from terrorists. The information released by the Syrian Foreign Ministry once more demonstrates in full the hypocrisy of the members of the western US-led coalition, and proves that the entire goal of the entire operation is to remove the regime of President Bashar Assad," Slutsky told reporters.
He added that in order to reach that goal, the western countries were ready to do everything from spreading fake news to actually supporting terrorists.
"Now it is even clearer that Idlib, where pro-governmental Syrian forces allegedly used chemical weapons, was the first step in one big chain of provocations to justify the Tomahawk missile strikes in violation of the international law and sovereignty of the Syrian Republic," Slutsky added.
Voltaire Network
adds:
These three companies specialize in manufacturing gas used by the police for law enforcement. Federal Laboratories works mainly with the Israeli army.
Under article 5 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, using these gases - assuming that it is in fact gas that police normally use for law enforcement - is prohibited in conflict zones.
On 14 September 2013, the Syrian Arab Republic ratified this treaty (a treaty that Israel still has not signed). Syria's entire stock of chemical weapons was dismantled under the joint control of the United States and Russia. Since then, Damascus declares that it has and is scrupulously respecting this Treaty; yet Washington - despite its declaration that it had watched over the destruction of Syria's entire arsenal- is accusing Syria of using prohibited weapons.
For the past five years, Washington, London and Tel-Aviv have been running Operation Timber Sycamore, the biggest operation for arms trafficking in History
A spokesman for UK's Chemring Defence has
denied the allegations, kind of:
Chemring Defence doesn't manufacture chemical weapons or components that can be used in anything like that, so I suggest you might want to check your source to see if they know what they're talking about.
The Pentagon says their military "assistance" to rebels
never consisted of chemical agents. Can the CIA say the same?
Comment: The State Department says they're "aware" of the accusations, adding that they condemn CWs and that their use would be a violation of international standards and norms. Maria Zakharova said it's "beyond understanding" that such a thing could have taken place. Russian MP Leonid Slutsky says Syria has the right to address the UN over the issue: Voltaire Network adds: A spokesman for UK's Chemring Defence has denied the allegations, kind of: The Pentagon says their military "assistance" to rebels never consisted of chemical agents. Can the CIA say the same?