Update-Mikdad affirms that Syria disposed of chemical weapons completely

Damascus, SANA – Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad affirmed that the accusations, claims and lies about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government aim at defaming the Syrian Arab Republic in front of the international public opinion and finding justifications that serve the Zionist entity and its interests in the region, in addition to prolonging the crisis especially after the achievements made by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies in the war on terrorism.

The affirmation made by of Mikdad, who is the head of the national committee for implementing Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, came during a press conference he held in Damascus on Monday.

“I affirm in the name of the Syrian Arab Republic that Syria disposed of its chemical program completely. There are no longer any chemical weapons in Syria, or any toxic chemical materials or gases that could be used in military operations,” said Mikdad.

He added that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has acknowledged that Syria eliminated all that is related to its chemical file, reminding that Syria has welcomed and received the investigation teams in all the places they asked to visit.

He noted that the Syrian government has officially requested that chemical materials be disposed of outside Syria so that there can be no doubts about them being destroyed or not, and ships came from Denmark, the US, Britain, Finland and Sweden to carry out this process, pointing out that the Americans are asking for the documents related to the history of the file and experts and others, which no longer exist.

Mikdad recalled that exactly one day after terrorists used toxic gases in Aleppo’s Khan al-Assal, the Syrian government sent a letter to the former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asking for a probe into the incident, but the US mission under Ake Sellstrom at that time arrived in Damascus only four months later, and during a meeting at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry, Professor Sellstrom forgot totally about the Khan al-Assal issue and “surprisingly informed us…of information he received that there was a chemical weapon attack in Eastern Ghouta on 21/8/2013, and that he received instructions to go there instead of heading to Khan al-Assal.”

He went on saying that the Syrian government allowed the mission to go to the site of the incident in Eastern Ghouta out of its conviction in the need for investigating the crimes of the armed terrorist organizations, noting however that the investigation mission no longer made any mention of what happened in Khan al-Assal or later in other places in Syria.

“This proves by conclusive evidence that the intentions were all focused on the necessity of accusing the government of the Syrian Arab Republic of using chemical weapons because they couldn’t find a better weapon through which they can, as they thought, point the finger of blame at the Syrian government,” Mikdad stressed.

In a relevant context, the Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister said that the recent developments in Syria are the best for the Syrian state since the beginning of the crisis until now, as the Syrian Army and its allies are advancing all over the country and national reconciliations are making great achievements in and around Damascus and in Homs, “which quashed their dreams.”

Mikdad said that the operation of liberating eastern Aleppo will go down in the history of Syria in the framework of putting an end to terrorism and the direct intervention by the US and the old colonialism such as that of France and Britain and some Arab regimes that allied with Israel to kill the Syrian people and destroy its achievements.

He noted that prior to the crisis, Syria was advancing quickly towards achieving economic and human development, and this didn’t make some sides happy whether those inside or outside the region.

Mikdad also touched upon the recent discourse of the US, the West and even the conflicting sides in the Gulf that has left no doubt about the real role which those parties have been playing in conspiring against Syria in terms of arming, funding, harboring and supporting the terrorist organizations in Syria under the orders of Israel and the US with the aim to make the whole region submissive to the Israeli administration.

He affirmed that the US direct aggression on al-Shairat airport in Homs countryside had no moral, political or operational justification at all, adding that it aimed at showing the US new administration as a strong side and that it can strike any place, as well, it came as a commitment by the US to the interests of the Zionist entity and to prolong the extent of the crisis in Syria, particularly after the achievements made by the Syrian Arab Army and its allies.

Mikdad affirmed that the second purpose of the US immoral, aggressive, and bloody act was to prevent Syria from achieving any victory over terrorism because the US and its agents in the region have invested in terrorism as any merchant who invests his money in building facilities to increase his income.

He went on saying that the Americans are those who created terrorism through al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, and then they divided it into the ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra with consistent political support from various American administrations to these terrorist groups.

Regarding the possibility of any US imminent aggression on Syria, Mikdad said “We will not be surprised if the US would commit new attacks on Syria, but the US must accurately account the reactions of that Syria and its allies.”

He pointed out that the investigations conducted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), mainly in Khan Sheikoun, were carried out in Turkey, which is fighting the Syrian state and occupies part of its territory, the witnesses, as well,  are terrorists and the samples lifted were provided by them and by the so-called “White Helmets organization” which is affiliated to the US and British intelligence in addition to other organizations, including “Doctors Without Borders,” wondering how would these sides provide honest materials or witnesses.

Mikdad went on to say that Turkey is partner to all activities that led to the encouragement of terrorists to use chemical weapons in Syria, noting that there are also chemical materials imported by terrorists to Syria from Iraq.

He added that the OPCW didn’t arrive in the site of the incident in Khan Sheikhoun, affirming that it satisfied itself with what they provided it in Turkey.

“OPCW officials visited Syria two weeks ago as we asserted on the letters sent by Syria to the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu and the UN General Secretariat because there are two mechanisms now following the chemical file; mainly the investigation mechanism in New York and the fact-finding committee in the Hague,” Mikdad stressed.

“We have said that we are affirming two things, Firstly, the Syrian Arab Republic will secure all the conditions available for visiting Khan Sheikhoun until the last line of the Syrian Arab Army,  after that, the responsibility will be upon the countries sponsoring the terrorist organizations in that area.. We believe that if those countries were serious to exert pressure on the terrorist organizations, then the visit of the OPCW was paid,” Mikdad said.

He went on saying “three or four days ago, we received letters from the Director-General of the OPCW in which he asserted that the organization was unable to go to Khan Sheikhoun and that they had no mandate or license to go to al-Shairat airport.”

Mikdad added that those officials reiterate their refusal to visit al-Shairat airport the visit will uncover the US lies.

“We formed a Syrian investigation committee and the report of the committee is there in colored pictures which were submitted to us by our citizens in Khan Sheikhoun who saw and knew this game and that there was no use of any Sarin gas by the Syrian government and that it was the terrorist groups who used this gas to justify their low logic which comes in the framework of the campaign against Syria,” Mikdad said.

He added that more information related to this report will be submitted during the upcoming meetings of the OPCW.

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