Attia: What Syria has been exposed to within OPCW raises questions about the latter’s ability to carry out its tasks  

The Hague, SANA- Ambassador Milad Attia, Permanent representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), has affirmed that what Syria has been subjected to during the past years within the organization raises serious questions about the organization’s ability to carry out its mandate under the Chemical Weapons Convention, as it is being used as a tool to implement the political agendas of some Western states against state parties to the convention.

Attia’s remarks came in a statement delivered during the opening of the 100th session of the Executive OPCW Council The Hague yesterday.

“Syria welcomed this year the 25^th anniversary of the Chemical Weapons Convention’s entry into force as it is considered the first multilateral convention to eliminate a class of weapons of mass destruction, and based on its deep belief that this convention constitutes the first multilateral disarmament mechanism in the world and that it provides for the elimination of an entire class of weapons of mass destruction led by the OPCW, whose task is to implement the provisions of this convention,” Ambassador Arria said.

He added “Unfortunately, since 2018, the OPCW, the body charged with implementing the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, has been used as a tool to implement the political agendas of some Western countries against states parties to the Convention, as those well-known countries have exploited it to make false accusations and take unjust decisions that clearly violate the provisions of the convention.”

“My delegation regrets that this technical organization has been again involved in geopolitical and security issues of a regional and international nature and it has been diverted from the goals for which it was established,” the Syrian diplomat said.

Attia said: “My delegation regrets that this technical organization has been again involved in geopolitical and security issues of a regional and international nature and it has been diverted from the goals for which it was established,” adding: “The United States of America and some Western countries have repeated with the Russian Federation the same scenarios they used with Syria over the past ten years.”

He pointed out that these countries have ignored all documented information and evidence provided by Russia on what the Ukrainian forces are doing with the support of Western countries and other parties to prepare for plays of using chemical weapons in Ukraine to accuse the Russian forces.

Attia stressed that it is the legitimate right of the Russian Federation to defend its national security, independence, stability and territorial integrity.

He continued, “What is required of the US and its allies today is to stop their hostile, hard-line stance against Russia.”

“As a result, Syria sees that those who bear responsibility for the chaos and bloodshed are the Western countries as a result of their policies aimed at controlling other peoples in Ukraine and in various parts of the world,” Attia said.

Attia continued: “We do not forget what they have done in Syria and they are doing now. There are thousands of victims because of them, and they destroyed infrastructure, supported terrorism and imposed economic terrorism since 2011 until now.”

He added that Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 voluntarily and in good faith, out of its belief in the rejection of the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere and under any circumstances, and Syria faithfully and credibly implemented its sovereign decision to finish the Syrian chemical file, and that was done in record time.

“But we say with regret… that what Syria has been exposed to during the past years within the organization has raised a serious question for us about the organization’s ability to carry out its mandate under the convention and the extent of its ability to withstand the pressures it is exposed to by the US and its Western allies because the organization has been turned it into a tool for political manipulation that distanced it from its professionalism and credibility,” he said.

Attia added that Syria has faced a historically unprecedented campaign of skepticism and false accusations of not cooperating with the organization and its technical secretariat, noting that the behavior of these countries is in stark contrast to the provisions of the Convention, the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

Attia slammed what has been recently stated in the reports of the technical secretariat of the organization of false and baseless accusations, in which it indicated that Syria is obstructing the work of the technical secretariat and that it does not want to hold the round of consultations No. (25) between the experts of the National Committee and the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT), saying that in reality “Syria has welcomed all the proposals of the Technical Secretariat, based on its firm keenness to end the file of outstanding issues, and expressed its welcome and its serious desire to close this file forever.”

“Syria, along with many other countries, on more than one occasion expressed objective observations regarding the work of the fact-finding mission, and with all that, it cooperated with the teams of this mission and provided them with the full facilities required to make their tasks successful, but this mission failed in more than one test,” Attia elaborated.

Attia said: “The expansion of chemical terrorist threats constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security, and no country is immune from this serious threat… In this context, Syria affirms that the behavior of some of the parties’ states in covering up the crimes and practices of terrorist groups in Syria encouraged these terrorists to commit more heinous crimes against Syrian citizens.”

Attia added: “In this context, Syria affirms that achieving the universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention represents a very important step in ensuring the establishment of an effective global order against chemical weapons, but this matter will not be achieved without obligating the Israeli occupation to join this convention and place its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons under international control.”

“Syria has always called for international cooperation to confront the illegal restrictions imposed by some well-known countries on transferring scientific technology for peaceful purposes to developing countries and subjecting them to illegal unilateral coercive measures against some other countries with the aim of preventing them from achieving economic and scientific development for their people and preventing them from using chemistry for such peaceful purposes in violation of the provisions of the Convention and the international law,” Attia said.

Attia concluded his statement by emphasizing Syria’s keenness to continue implementing its commitments under its accession to the convention and cooperation with the organization in an atmosphere of mutual trust and commitment to standards of integrity and impartiality and not to submit to the pressure and politicization approach practiced by the US and its Western allies.

Manar Salameh/ Ruaa al-Jazaeri