Syria slams French, US allegations of chemical weapons use as false

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Aug 2023 10:40

Syria dismisses the accusations as part of a disinformation campaign to divert attention from the Western countries' complicity in supporting terrorist groups in Syria.

Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Building, Damascus (SANA)

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has vehemently condemned recent statements from the French Foreign Ministry and the spokesperson of the US National Security Council accusing the Syrian forces of using chemical weapons in 2013, slamming them as false and baseless accusations, SANA reported.

The Ministry dismissed the statements as being part of an ongoing campaign of misinformation and deceit. The Syrian government firmly believes that these allegations serve to divert attention from their true perpetrators and to conceal the involvement of France and the United States in heinous crimes within Syrian territory, the statement read.

"The French and American foreign ministries' statements are nothing but an extension of their previous endeavors to spread falsehoods and lies, which further confirms their active role in orchestrating grave offenses against Syria," it added.

The Ministry further elaborated that such statements are designed to obfuscate the actual perpetrators behind various incidents and to mask the shared responsibility of France and the US in supporting terrorist factions operating within Syria.

The Ministry further emphasized that the terrorist groups, supported by the two Western countries and their allies, were the ones behind the chemical attacks in Eastern Ghouta in August 2013.

The Ministry added in its statement that the persistent patterns of frail allegations are clear proof of the two countries' involvement in various crimes that have occurred within Syrian borders.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reiterated its stance that the officials of both France and the United States must be held accountable for their actions.

In a recent session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on August 8, Dr. Al-Hakam Dandi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, revealed that US occupation forces in the country have supplied terrorists in Al-Tanf with chemical weapons and have even trained them on their usage.

According to Dandi, the intention behind this act was to orchestrate a fabricated incident of chemical weapons used to frame the Syrian Arab Army. The official pointed to the deliberate monthly meetings on the so-called "Syrian chemical file," in spite of the absence of any new developments or evidence that suggest the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Dandi said this raises suspicions of a concerted effort to provide opportunities for certain well-known states to repeatedly level baseless accusations against Syria.

The statement comes in a clear reference to the United States and its allies who have sought to pin the alleged use of chemical weapons on the Syrian government to justify their occupation of the country, as well as their support to terrorist organizations in Syria and the collective punishment of the Syrian people under unilateral sanctions.