US boycotts world disarmament body over Syria presidency

AFP  |  Geneva 

The said it would today's session of the amid fears that is using its presidency of the body to "normalise" the regime.

"We will continue to defend United States' interests" in the body, he added.

last week took over the body's rotating, four-week presidency, which according to a decades-old practice among its 65 member states follows the alphabetical order of country names in English.

Wood was present during the first plenary session on Syria's watch a week ago, when he took the opportunity to lead a number of countries to protest what he described as "a travesty".

Despite the mechanical nature of Syria's arrival at the helm of the disarmament conference, following and Sweden, a number of country representatives voiced their outrage that a of was presiding over the body that negotiated the ban.

Syria's meanwhile slammed last week's protest as "sensational propaganda" and "characterised by double-standards." More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's civil war began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

After hundreds of people died in near in 2013, a deal with was struck to rid of chemical weapons, staving off US air strikes.

But the and Western countries have accused of carrying out a number of since then.

A suspected chlorine and sarin attack in the Syrian town of on April 7 this year triggered punitive missile strikes against alleged sites in Syria by the US, Britain and

Last week, Wood had briefly walked out of the room when took the floor, before returning to deliver a scathing speech.

"Today marks a sad and shameful day in the history of this body," he told the assembly on May 29.

He vowed at the time that throughout Syria's presidency, the would be represented "in this hall to ensure that Syria is not able to advance initiatives that run counter to the interests of the "

That was a promise the US has now backed away from. A for the confirmed that no American representatives would be present during Tuesday's session.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, June 05 2018. 14:35 IST