West Uninterested in Inquiry Into Syria Khan Sheikhoun Incident - Official

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The West is not interested in the results of investigations into the suspected chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun in Syria’s Idlib province, Russian envoy to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alexander Shulgin said Friday.

Earlier in the day, the OPCW said that its fact-finding mission had established the use of sarin in the April 4 incident in Idlib.

"I think that these are attempts to topple the Syrian authorities, to demonize President [Bashar] Assad. We have witnessed this policy in several periods of time and it is yet another example of such policy. Actually, our partners do not need the results of the investigation," Shulgin told the RT broadcaster.

The official added that the western partners of Russia had been "sure that the Syrian authorities were engaged in the incident" since April.

On April 4, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, supported by the United States, blamed Damascus for the Khan Sheikhoun incident that killed 80 people, including children, and injured 200 more. The Syrian army strongly rejected the accusations and laid the blame on local militants and their patrons. The Syrian authorities said that they had never used chemical weapons against civilians or terrorists, and that the nation's entire chemical arsenal had been destroyed under the control of the OPCW.

Reacting to the incident, Washington, which had not presented any proof of chemical weapon use by Damascus, launched 59 cruise missiles at the Syrian governmental military airfield in Ash Sha’irat on April 7.

On April 21, Assad told Sputnik that there was no chemical weapon attack in Idlib, adding that the reports of it were a false flag and fabrication which was supposed to justify a US missile strike on the Syrian airbase.