Russia may have tampered with the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria., the U.S. envoy to the global watchdog said Monday, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has denied allegations of interference.
U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Ward levied the accusation against Russia during a closed-door meeting at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The meeting was convened after an April 7 attack Douma, outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, in which dozens of people were allegedly killed with poison gas.
It is long overdue that this council condemns the Syrian government for its reign of chemical terror- Kenneth Ward, U.S. ambassador
"It is long overdue that this council condemns the Syrian government for its reign of chemical terror and demands international accountability for those responsible for these heinous acts," Ward said in comments obtained by Reuters.
"It is our understanding the Russians may have visited the attack site. It is our concern that they may have tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the efforts of the OPCW fact-finding mission to conduct an effective investigation."
The United States, Britain and France fired more than 100 missiles at three alleged chemical weapons facilities early Saturday, angering Syria's military backer, Moscow, which threatened to retaliate.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the strikes had accomplished their aim of undermining efforts by the Syrian government to produce and use chemical weapons again in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
OPCW inspectors were trying to gain access to the sites in Douma on Monday aiming to collect samples, interview witnesses and document evidence to determine whether banned toxic munitions were used.
Evidence may have been removed
It has been more than a week since the attack in which witnesses and Western governments described helicopters dropping sarin and chlorine bombs that killed many children and women hiding from clashes between rebels and government troops.
A diplomatic source told Reuters that evidence may have been removed while inspectors negotiated access with Syrian authorities.
Syria and Russia deny chemical weapons were used in the final offensive that captured Douma, a rebel-held territory east of Damascus.
But on Monday, Lavrov told BBC: "I can guarantee that Russia has not tampered with the site."
His deputy minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said the mission cannot access the site without a UN permit.
Ryabkov said the mission wasn't allowed in because it hadn't secured the approval of the UN Department for Safety and Security.
The British envoy to the OPCW said it had recorded 390 allegations of the use of banned chemicals in Syria since 2014, and that a failure by the OPCW to act risked allowing "further barbaric use of chemical weapons."
Syria joined the OPCW, the organization tasked with monitoring adherence to the 1997 convention, in 2013 after a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people in Ghouta. The move was part of a joint Russian-U.S. deal that averted military action threatened by then-president Barack Obama.
Inspectors can't get access
Inspectors have not yet been granted access to sites in Douma, the British delegation to the OPCW said Monday, citing the agency's director general.
The inspectors arrived on Saturday, but in a statement posted on Twitter, the British delegation said Russia and Syria had not yet allowed inspectors access to Douma.
"Unfettered access (is) essential," the statement said. "Russia and Syria must co-operate."
Russia's deputy foreign minister said the delay was due to U.S. airstrikes.
Putin warns against further Western attacks
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs, as Washington prepared to increase pressure on Russia with new economic sanctions.
Members of the 41-seat executive council of the OPCW were due to discuss the alleged use of prohibited toxins in Syria, but were not expected to reach any agreement about a response.
The organization, which needs a two-thirds majority to make decisions, has been undermined by deep political division over the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. The OPCW inspectors will not assign blame for attacks.
I'm afraid the Syrian war will go on in its horrible, miserable way. But it was the world saying that we've had enough of the use of chemical weapons.- Boris Johnson, British foreign secretary
The U.S.-led strikes did nothing to alter the strategic balance or dent Assad's supremacy, and the Western allies have said the aim was to prevent the further use of chemical weapons, not to intervene in the civil war or topple Assad.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson made this clear on Monday as he arrived at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, telling reporters: "I'm afraid the Syrian war will go on in its horrible, miserable way. But it was the world saying that we've had enough of the use of chemical weapons."
More U.S. sanctions
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said Sunday the United States would announce new economic sanctions aimed at companies dealing with equipment related to Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons.
Responding to Haley's remarks, Evgeny Serebrennikov, deputy head of a Russian parliamentary defence committee, said Moscow was ready for the penalties.
"They are hard for us, but will do more damage to the USA and Europe," RIA news agency quoted Serebrennikov as saying.