Declarations of Syria on Insufficient Chemical Arms: UN, Watchdog .

Unfinished remarks from Syria on chemical weapons were criticized by UN officials and a global watchdog, while its ally Russia tried to fight back against the allegations. Officials from the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons claimed during a video conference at the UN Security Council that Syria had refused to respond to a set of 19 questions concerning toxic arms. Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said the OPCW had found that the statements of Syria “cannot be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.” due to unresolved inconsistencies and discrepancies. OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said one of the issues concerned a chemical weapons production facility declared by Syria as never having. Information and material collected since 2014 suggests that the facility was used without specifying the location for “production and/or weaponization of chemical warfare nerve agents,” he said. In 2017, OPCW investigators accused the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of sarin and chlorine attacks in Syria. Russia and Syria have denied the allegations, saying the work of the OPCW has been politicised by Western powers. “What we reject is speculations and political smear campaigns, which, sadly, more and more often poison the OPCW,” said Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations. He alleged that instead of on-site collections of samples, the company relied on remote inquiries.

European members of the Security Council shared their full support for the OPCW in a joint statement ahead of the conference. Germany, Belgium, Estonia, France and Britain praised “its professionalism, objectivity and well-established technical expertise in enforcing the Chemical Weapons Convention and tasks assigned by the states parties.” The United States also said that the global watchdog was “strongly” sponsored. For months, Russia and Syria have been forced by the UN and OPCW to explain the chemical attacks taken out in Syria and the poisoning of Russian nationals. Although the meeting was dedicated to chemical weapons in Syria, Arias spoke at length about the case of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, who claims to have been poisoned by the Kremlin. He particularly regretted the fact that Moscow was still blocking the OPCW’s technical visit to Russia. The OPCW said samples collected from Navalny contained a nerve agent of the Novichok type.