Russia urges US to refrain from using UNSC as anti-Syria platform

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
8 May 2023 21:06

First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nation Dmitry Polyanskiy says the UN Security Council must be a propaganda platform for "promoting an anti-Syrian line."

First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nation Dmitry Polyanskiy speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S. September 23, 2021. (AP)

Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's first deputy representative to the UN, urged the US and its allies on Monday to refrain from using the UN Security Council as an anti-Syria platform.

During a UNSC meeting, Polyansky said "The Security Council should not become a platform for promoting an anti-Syrian line promoted by the US and its allies. Simply talking about the [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)] Director General's reports time and time again, especially as the Director General is not in the room, seems pointless."

The aim of the meeting was to resolve disagreements between the OPCW and the Syrian government over the eradication of chemical weapons in the nation. A Chinese envoy requested that the UN Security Council members "reduce the frequency" of meetings over the Syrian problem during the meeting in order to improve the effectiveness of the body's operations.

In a similar statement, Ghasaq Shaheen, the political coordinator for the United Arab Emirates at the UN, stated at the meeting that the UN Security Council should assess the efficiency of its ongoing discussions of Syria in light of the lack of substantive progress and urged convening sessions every three months.

Syria's FM categorically rejets the OPCW report about Douma

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced its rejection of the report of the so-called Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) affiliated with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), regarding allegations of using chlorine in Douma in April 2018, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it "categorically rejects the report that was issued in September 2022 by the so-called IIT of the OPCW about the alleged incident of using chlorine in Douma in April 2018."

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that “The report lacks any scientific and objective evidence, and no specialist can reach the misleading conclusions its authors found,” stressing that they “neglected the objective observations raised by state parties, experts, academics, and former inspectors from the organization, who are known for their experience and knowledge.”

In a statement issued on September 30, 2022, the ministry indicated that "Syria was not surprised by the misleading report, which came to confirm once again the correctness of its position on the OPCW's reports that all lacked credibility."

"Syria and many other countries objected to recognizing the so-called IIT, which has no legitimacy," the ministry said, pointing out that "Syria calls on all states parties in the prohibition agreement and the United Nations to assume their responsibilities to preserve the independence, credibility, and future of this organization."

The ministry also called on those parties "not to allow the United States and a number of Western countries to dominate their work and role and to politicize their tasks and use them as a tool to achieve their political goals."

This is not the first time these organizations have insisted on accusing Syria without providing significant evidence.