RUSSIA has accused the US of promoting unverified reports about chemical weapons attacks in Syria in order to cloud Moscow’s latest peace initiative.
The Syrian government has also dismissed the reports as “lies”.
The US and 28 other countries are launching a new plan to better identify and punish chemical weapon use, amid claims of a gas attack in rebel-held suburbs of Damascus earlier this week.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the US of promoting “rigged, unverified reports” of the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Russia is hosting peace talks in Sochi next week that some Syrian opposition figures said will run counter to UN peace initiatives.
Ryabkov’s remarks came a day after US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said Moscow “ultimately bears responsibility for the victims” of the latest suspected chemical attack. The Syrian foreign ministry dismissed the allegations as “unacceptable”, blaming western nations for blocking probes and pressuring investigators after previous attacks.
The US and Russia reached an agreement in 2013 to remove all chemical weapons from Syria, but there have been several reported chemical attacks since then.
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