"According to the information available in the SVR, the technique of their use was practiced in May in the Syrian province of Idlib by militants of the CIA-controlled local wing of Al-Qaeda*, the Hurras al-Din group, as well as extremists from the Islamic Party of Turkestan*. About 100 civilians were poisoned back then," the statement read.
The SVR stressed that the US had handed over "missiles with warheads filled with poisonous substances" to the Daesh* terrorist organization in southern Syria. Deputy Commander of the US Central Command Vice Admiral James Malloy is responsible for such operations in southern Syria and the Damascus region, the SVR added.
"[US President Joe] Biden’s team is doing everything to disrupt the Arab-Syrian normalization, to discredit the leadership of Syria. For this purpose, provocations are being prepared, including with the use of chemical poisonous substances,” the statement added.
About a third of Syria remains occupied, including by the United States, which controls oil and food producing regions east of the Euphrates River. Washington holds military camps on these territories and trains jihadists.
Syrian officials have slammed the US and its allies over the dirty war, and demanded that all foreign forces not explicitly invited by the Damascus government leave the country, and allow Syria to restore full control over its internationally recognized borders.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS), Al-Qaeda and Islamic Party of Turkestan are terrorist organisations outlawed in Russia and many other states