PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS
05.09.2013
Russian MFA on the investigation of the chemical weapons use in SyriaWe pay attention to the massive stove-piping of various information aimed
at placing the responsibility for the alleged chemical weapons use in Syria
on Damascus, even though the results of the UN investigation have not yet
been revealed.
By such means the way is being paved for military action against Damascus.
In this view, we would like to share the main conclusions made by the
Russian investigators, who analysed samples taken at the site of the March
19 attack with the use of chemical warfare gas at Khan al-Assal near Aleppo.
The Khan al-Assal attack killed at least 26 civilians and Syrian army
soldiers, 86 more suffered injuries of varying severity.
On the 9 July, the results of the probe analysis carried out on the request
of the Syrian government by a Russian laboratory certified by the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were handed over to
the Secretary-General of the UN after Damascus had appealed to the latter
for an independent investigation of the incident.
The main conclusions of the Russian experts are as follows:
– the shell used in the incident does not belong to the standard ammunition
of the Syrian army and was home-made according to type and parameters of
the rocket-propelled unguided missiles manufactured in the north of Syria
by the so-called Bashair al-Nasr brigade;
– RDX, which is also known as hexogen or cyclonite, was used as the
bursting charge for the shell, and it is not used in standard chemical
munitions;
– soil and shell samples contain the non-industrially synthesized nerve
agent sarin and diisopropylfluorophosphate, which was used by Western
states for producing chemical weapons during World War II.
The findings of the report are extremely specific as they mostly consist of
about 100 pages of scientific and technical data from probes’ analysis. We
expect that this data can substantially aid the UN investigation of the
incident. Unfortunately, in effect, it has yet not started.
The attention of those who are set to place the responsibility for all
chemical attacks on the Syrian government has switched to the eastern
Damascus suburb of Ghouta. And again, certain states have adopted a flawed
selective approach in reporting the incidents of alleged chemical weapons
use.
There have been apparent attempts to cast a veil over the incidents of gas
poisoning of Syrian army soldiers on 22, 24 and 25 August. They suffered
poisoning after discovering materials, equipment and tanks with traces of
sarin in the outskirts of Damascus.
The condition of the soldiers has been examined and documented by the UN
experts group headed by Oke Sellstrom. Obviously, any objective
investigation of the 21 August incident in eastern Ghouta is impossible
without the consideration of all these facts.
In the view of the above, we welcome the words of UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon, who said that the UN investigators group headed by Oke Sellstrom
was set to return to Syria to investigate several other cases of alleged
chemical weapons use, including the 19 March incident in Khan al-Assal.
LATEST EVENTS
On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, signed on 16 July 2001, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, in order to continue the dynamic development of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction in a new era, in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Treaty, declare as follows:
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the 9th Moscow Conference on International Security in Moscow.
Due to considerable number of requests of foreign nationals living far away from London the Visa Application Centre in Manchester will reopen on 23 June.
President Putin's news conference following Russia-US talks in Geneva.
On the eve of Russian Language Day, which is marked in the Russian Federation annually on June 6 and is timed to coincide with the birthday of Alexander Pushkin, the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, noting the importance of the Russian language for the development of international relations and intercultural dialogue, addresses international parliamentary organisations, parliaments and the public of foreign states with a call to respect and encourage the right of any person to use their native language, including to receive education in it.
Regrettably, the coronavirus infection has prevented us from holding an in-person meeting. I would like to once again express our solidarity with India and the Indian people. We are ready to continue providing assistance in the fight against the pandemic and to promote cooperation in this sphere. It is only through joint efforts that we will overcome the current crisis to the benefit of our nations.
Another representative of military officials in the collective West – UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace – has made a series of anti-Russia statements naming Moscow as the UK's “number one adversary threat”.
The UK’s Defence Secretary is known as one of the most consistent anti-fans of our country in the British government. At the same time, just as before, his assertive anti-Russia rhetoric contains no specificity.
Question: UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that London may consider sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and Yamal-Europe energy pipelines following the Ryanair incident in Belarus, in which Russia could be involved, according to him. What is the Russian Foreign Ministry’s opinion of this statement?
Maria Zakharova: We have seen these statements by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and we are aware of his views on the incident with the emergency landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk on May 23.
We have taken note of the fact that our Western partners are talking about “the Russian connection” in their comments on the situation. Barely three days after the incident with Ryanair, our Western partner have presented their conclusions very quickly, unanimously and, as always, without any substantiation, even though the investigation is not over and aviation experts have not offered any explanations yet. I will not repeat our official position right now, but I would like to point out that it is focused on conducting an objective and detailed investigation, unlike our Western partners, who only rely on the “highly likely” principle and are speculating about the non-existent “hand of Moscow.”
Question: Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference on 12 May 2021, the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that ‘states like Russia’ have a responsibility to prosecute criminals operating from their territory, ‘not shelter them’. How would you comment on this? Answer: The Embassy has on multiple occasions commented unfounded accusations of numerous ‘sins’ in cyberspace made against our country. It is disappointing that the British authorities keep using Russia as a negative example, while having no actual grounds for this. Over the past few years we have repeatedly suggested to the UK, as well as to the USA and other countries, to develop professional cooperation to tackle the issues arising in this field... The UK prefers resounding speeches and vague ‘sheltering criminals’ insinuations.
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