New vote may be taken in UN to investigate chemical attacks in Syria
Diplomats of Sweden and Uruguay have prepared a new resolution which calls for a continuation of the UN investigation into who is responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, as stated by the representative of the Russian mission to the United Nations, Fyodor Strizhovsky, TASS news agency reports.
According to him, two non-permanent members of the Security Council submitted a compromise proposal to restore the work of the UN Secretary-General’s Investigation Mechanism and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
This report came the day after Russia vetoed a proposal to extend the mandate of a joint investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
This was Moscow's 11th veto in the UN since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
The mandate of the joint investigation of the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons expired at midnight on November 17.
On October 26, a report on the investigation of chemical weapons in Syria appeared which, in particular, accuses the Syrian authorities of a gas attack in April of this year in the rebel-held city of Khan Shaykhun. The attack killed at least 87 civilians, including at least 30 children and many women. Hundreds more suffered from the attack.
The report provides ample evidence that the poisonous gas sarin, which was used for the attack, was derived from high-quality Syrian government supplies rather than the improvised rebel product, and that the crater from the explosion could only be made by bomb dropped from the air, and not from detonating a device on the ground.
Russia, which supports the ruling regime of Syria, sharply criticized the report and attempted to question the evidence. The West, on the other hand, expressed appreciation for the work of those who compiled the report.