MOSCOW: Russia plans to present evidence handed over by the Syrian government about the use of chemical weapons by foreign-backed militants in an attack in the suburbs of Damascus to the UN Security Council, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“We have plenty of reports on chemical weapons use, which indicate that the opposition regularly resorts to provocations in order to trigger an intervention,” Lavrov said, adding that the UN Security Council will consider the evidence provided by Russia.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Syrian authorities handed over the additional evidence regarding the use of chemical weapons by foreign-backed militants near Damascus to Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov, who is currently on a visit in Damascus.
On Monday, the 38-page report compiled by a UN expert team confirmed that chemical weapons were used in a deadly assault on August 21 on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta, killing hundreds of people.
The report did not indicate who launched the attack but the United States, France, UK and the foreign-backed militants accused the President Bashar al-Assad’s regime of using chemical weapons against civilians.
