Moscow deems statements made by the United States on Russia’s unwillingness to respect the latest ceasefire agreement in Syria as illogical and counterproductive, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
"We of course believe that such statements… are illogical and counterproductive," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters at a weekly press briefing.
"We fully understand the nature of these statements, but they are not going to benefit the cause. There should be constructive work. We have an example of such work, we know when the US is able to work when wants to work. Therefore, responsible work for the implementation of the agreements reached should replace these statements," she stressed.
Moscow insists on publication of the Russia-US ceasfire agreement in Syria to avoid speculation and incorrect iterpretation, she added. The decision on publication, however, should be made jointly with Washington.
Meanwhile, Moscow is optimistic about the prospects of establishing a Russian-US Joint Integration Center (JIC) on Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a new peace plan to address the conflict in Syria that called for a ceasefire to come into force on Monday. If the new ceasefire in Syria lasts for seven days, Washington and Moscow will work together to establish the JIC, and carry out joint airstrikes against the Nusra Front, according to the deal.
"Of course we are not just optimistic. We look on the certain documents, the Russian delegation has looked on for months and has made relevant amendments. Now we look on them right as on the documents, but not just political declarations, not as on the statements of intent, but on the documents signed by Moscow and Washington. Implementation of the documents is our direct responsibility," Maria Zakharova said at a briefing answering a question about prospects of the JIC.
Relations with Ukraine
As result of reunification of Crimea with Russia, Ukraine is not a coastal state anymore.
Russia has not received Ukraine's UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitration claims notice yet, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"We have heard statements that Ukraine has given us a notice of submission of an issue about Russia's alleged violations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to the arbitration tribunal, but we have not received such a notice yet," Zakharova told journalists.
According to Zakharova, Russia fulfills its obligations under the UNCLOS in good faith, including in regard to the maritime space around the Crimean Peninsula.
"As we have claimed before, Russia is a responsible party to the convention and implements in good faith all obligations in accordance with this document,' she added.
Chemical weapons storage in Libya
Moscow considers that the absence of excesses during the process of toxic substances removal from the crisis-torn Libya is the issue of crucial importance for Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The process of removal of chemical weapons from Libya concluded earlier in September. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) coordinated the removal with Canada, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
"During the removal no excesses has been registered. Of course, for us this issue is of crucial importance, especially taking into consideration a very complicated, due to the well-known reasons, political situation in Libya, which has stipulated these very important international activities," Zakharova said at the briefing.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) should clarify the circumstances of disappearance of more than 200 tonnes of precursor materials for chemical weapons at Libya's Ruwagha storage site, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"It is necessary to mention that the OPCW has to clarify circumstances, related to the so-called evaporation of some 200 tonnes of precursor materials for chemical weapons or about a third of the volumes of high-toxic chemicals remaining at Libya's Ruwagha storage site," Zakharova said at a briefing.
Smolensk tradegy investigation
Poland’s suggestion that Russia was involved in the deadly 2010 plane crash near the city of Smolensk that killed then-president and other high-level figures is "beyond absurd" that should be backed by additional case materials, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
The Polish Air Force Tu-154 jet airliner carrying Poland’s then-President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 88 military, parliament, banking and religious officials on April 10, 2010, crashed in heavy fog as it attempted to land at an airfield near Smolensk. All 96 people on board died in the crash.
"Defense Minister [of Poland Antoni] Macierewicz and Polish Foreign Minister [Witold] Waszczykowski recently made a series of Russophobic statements, we believe this is beyond absurd. The substance of these statements is that Russia is allegedly involved in the organization of the Polish presidential plane’s catastrophe in Smolensk," Maria Zakharova told journalist at the press briefing.
Speaking at a weekly briefing, she stressed that "irresponsible and provocative statements like that on the one hand reflect a very complicated political situation in Poland, and on the other hand further worsen relations between our countries at a difficult moment."
She further called on Warsaw to submit additional material on the crash for Moscow and the international community to examine.
The Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee said in a report that the flight crew’s decision not to reroute the plane to an alternative aerodrome led to the crash. In early February, the Polish Defense Ministry said that Warsaw would restart its investigation into the crash from the very beginning.
State Duma elections
Elections to the Russian State Duma are due to take place on Sunday. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that it was impossible to hold Russia's elections on Ukrainian territory.
"Voting stations on Ukrainian territory will be created in Russia's embassy in Kiev and our consulate generals… There is understanding that monitoring would be strengthened in line with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) in the vicinity of the four Russia's diplomatic missions. We have received such assurances both from the SMM leadership and from the OSCE," Zakharova said at a briefing.
WADA scandal
As far WADA in pretend to be the organization which regulate rules in sports, its decision should be made based on the international law.
