Comment by the Information and Press Department on a closed themed event on OPCW problems

We took note of reports on a number of Western internet resources regarding a closed themed event to address problems related to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The event was attended by prominent representatives of academic, public and political circles from many countries. Following the event, a statement was circulated with a well-argued criticism regarding the investigation of a high-profile chemical incident in Douma, Syria, on April 7, 2018, which was conducted by the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission in Syria (FFMS).

We fully share the document’s doubts about the validity of the conclusions that the FFMS presented following the investigation. We agree that the Mission’s chemical and toxicological analysis, as well as its ballistic data and witness interviews were unconvincing from a professional point of view and showed all the signs of political bias. We also express solidarity with the independent international experts, who have expressed doubts as to the impartiality of the Douma report.

Russia has repeatedly pointed to serious drawbacks in the FFMS’ activities that in a number of cases fall short of the high standards imposed by the Convention on the Prohibition and Elimination of Chemical Weapons (CPECW). The Mission’s reports are based on remotely obtained evidence from groups opposed to the Syrian government; the information provided by the official Syrian authorities is disregarded; and investigations are conducted in violation of the CPECW chain of custody. There are questions as to the FFMS personnel composition dominated by representatives from Western countries and their allied states.

We join the international experts’ appeal to the OPCW Technical Secretariat to enable all, without exception, FFMS members involved in investigating this episode to answer questions from the OPCW member-states at the upcoming Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention scheduled for November 25-29 in The Hague. We know that some of them have things to say.

Given these kinds of signals that come from both states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and authoritative international experts, it is time the heads of the OPCW Technical Secretariat drew proper conclusions as to the true reasons for the current crisis in the organisation. The OPCW is split down the middle due to the high level of politicisation of the far-fetched Syrian “chemical dossier” and decisions imposed in this connection by a group of Western countries, decisions that not only go far beyond the Chemical Weapons Convention but also interfere with the powers of the UN Security Council.