Russia: US Claims over Syria Chemical Weapons Not Convincing

Local Editor

Information the United States provided Russia over suspected use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces "does not look convincing", President Vladimir Putin's senior foreign policy adviser said on Friday.

"The Americans tried to present us with information on the use of chemical weapons by the regime, but frankly we thought that it was not convincing," said presidential aide Yury Ushakov on Friday.

He further stated that "we wouldn't like to invoke references to the famous lab tube that [former US] Secretary of State [Colin] Powell showed, but the facts don't look convincing in our eyes."

Powell brought a model vial, which he said looked like Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's weaponized anthrax, in a bid to convince members of the UN Security Council that they should agree to invade Iraq.

The alleged weapons of mass destruction program proved to be non-existent after the US conquered the country in 2003.
Ushakov was commenting on the US decision to allow military aid to Syrian rebels after claiming to that al-Assad's government had used its chemical weapons stockpile in the conflict.

"Of course, this will not help in the preparation of the international conference, if the Americans actually initiate larger-scale support of the rebels", he said.

In parallel, the Russian official said expanded US military support for armed groups would undermine joint efforts to organize a peace conference.
Moreover, he added that Moscow was "not yet" considering sending S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in response.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Russian Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, said the US accusations on the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian authorities are "fabricated" and "distorted".

Pushkov, added that the information about the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons has been concocted in a similar fashion as lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
"Information about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government's has been fabricated in the same place as the lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Pushkov said.

He affirmed that US President Barack Obama follows the same approach that was adopted by his predecessor George W. Bush.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team