Russia blames sponsors of Syrian extremists for use of chemical weapons

Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-4-15 10:07:37

Russia said Monday sponsors of extremists in Syria should be held accountable for the most recent use of chemical weapon in the country, and that any reports about use of the lethal weapons must be investigated.

"Any reports, any facts of chemical weapons use must be immediately investigated as the UN Security Council has decided," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters, commenting on reports about another chemical attack in Syria.

Syrian official TV reported Saturday that the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front used toxic gas in the central province of Hama, killing at least two people and causing suffocation to hundred others.

Lavrov said that Moscow put principal blame for the attack on the sponsors of the extremist opposition which attempts to undermine chemical disarmament in Syria.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Sept. 27, 2013, under which the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was mandated to oversee the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons materials.

OPCW said on Monday that Syria has surrendered about 65 percent of its chemical weapons so far.

Ahmet Uzumcu, head of OPCW technical secretariat, visited Moscow on Monday for talks with Lavrov. The two officials discussed the process of removing war chemicals from Syria, Russia 's Foreign Ministry said.

Posted in: Mid-East

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