Syria Hands Russia New Gas Attack 'Evidence'
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Damascus presented to Russia additional evidence regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Earlier western countries accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against civilians, citing a controversial UN report.
The evidence was handed over on Wednesday to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and President Bashar Assad in Damascus.
“That is really true. Just now we were given evidence. We need to analyze it,” he told RT.
He didn’t describe further the evidence Damascus had presented, although it apparently is meant to prove that rebel forces have access to chemical weapons and used it in the conflict.
He also criticized the UN report, saying that Russia is disappointed with its “biased” and “politicized” nature.
"We are unhappy about this report, we think that report was distorted, it was one-sided, the basis of information upon which it is built is not sufficient, and in any case we would need to learn and know more on what happened beyond and above that incident of August 21," Ryabkov told RT.
The UN released a 38-page report on the incident, which confirmed that chemical weapons were indeed used in Syria on August 21. The inspectors behind the report were not authorized to name a suspected culprit in the attack, and the evidence they presented is now subject to conflicting interpretations.
