The footage showing a plant full of high-tech equipment located in the town of al-Shefounieh in Eastern Ghouta has been released by the state-run news agency. The clandestine workshop was used by terrorists, presumably Jaysh al-Islam militant group, papers of which were also discovered at site, to manufacture chemical munitions with equipment allegedly of Saudi origin and materials ostensibly made in Western countries. Chlorine was among the other toxic chemicals found at the building.
In response, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has urged the United States to abandon its “irresponsible plans” on Syria, which are fraught with conflict escalation.
“Several days ago we warned Washington against being tempted to take advantage of the fresh provocations by militants with the use pf chemical weapons against civilians and carry out a strike on Damascus. Threats by the US Ambassador to the UN to take such actions and escalate the situation in leading American media are apparently to accustom society to their inevitability,” it stated.
The ministry has also emphasized it was concerned over whom Washington was backing in Eastern Ghouta, which has long been controlled by terrorist groups.
On March 12, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley asserted that Washington was ready to act militarily against Syria if deemed necessary.
Earlier this week, Russian envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said Tahrir al-Sham* (formerly known as al-Nusra Front) terrorist group had used chlorine gas in Eastern Ghouta on March 5.
Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied allegations of having used chemical agents against civilians, reiterating that Damascus had no chemical weapons, which was proved by the OPCW report.
*A terrorist group banned in Russia