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US Reports of 'Chemical Incident' in Syria Based on Terrorist Claims – Moscow

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Recent US claims about the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian government troops are based on information from unverified sources, including from terrorist groups, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday.
Sputnik

“It is likely to be about one more [chemical attack] plot staged by militants of the armed Syrian opposition in the settlement of Kabani in the province of Latakia. The information [about the alleged attack] was posted at internet portals that belong to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group. These dubious sources of information were used for the statements made by the UN Security Council’s permanent member [the United States]”, Zakharova said at a press briefing.

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She pointed out that speculations about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government troops became an inherent part of NATO policy on Syria and the Middle East.

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From Zakharova’s point of view, the West continues to uphold the policy of permanent destabilization of the situation in Syria, instead of promoting a peace settlement.

The spokeswoman added that Western countries were showing readiness to react immediately to such information attacks.

On Tuesday, US Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said that the United States was collecting information regarding an alleged chemical weapons attack that reportedly took place in Syria over the weekend and warned the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad that it would quickly respond if the use of chemical weapons by Damascus was confirmed.

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The statement was made several days after the Russian Defence Ministry’s Syrian reconciliation centre had warned that terrorists were preparing a provocation with the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian province of Idlib. Damascus denied reports about the chemical attack.

The Western countries have repeatedly accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons during the ongoing civil war and even carried out precise airstrikes on Syria after reports about chemical incidents.

Damascus has refuted all the accusations, saying that the incidents were plotted by militants in order to discredit the Syrian government.

*Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

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