Al-Jaafari says that Syria will not bow to political blackmail or threats of direct aggression

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, stressed that Syria is fighting terrorism on behalf of the entire world and it will not bow down to political blackmail or threats of a direct military attack by the US, Britain and France.

Al-Jaafari’s made his remarks at the UN Security Council session held today.

“The language of threat doesn’t work at this council. We are diplomats and our mission is to prevent wars and threats and to find diplomatic solutions to international crises,” said al-Jaafari, adding that the governments of some permanent member states at the UNSC have given up their responsibilities and become politically and legally ineligible to defend international peace and security as they are ready to exploit the UN Security Council, the UN and other international bodies to make political gains at the expense of maintaining international peace and security.

The Syrian diplomat added that the party  which covers up and protects the Israeli nuclear, biological and chemical arsenal and invents false pretexts to keep its chemical arsenal, and the one which previously destroyed Iraq over Weapons of Mass Destruction Lies, withdrew from the international agreement with Iran, cut funding for UNRWA, withdrew from UNESCO and which continues to put pressure on the United Nations and threatens of withdrawing from the world Trade Organization does not have the right to accuse Syria of using chemical weapons, particularly when this party’s history is full of proofs about its use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons against civilians in many parts of the world, al-Jaafari said.

He stressed that Syria has fulfilled its commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention and destroyed all chemical weapon production facilities, noting that there has been no chemical weapon in Syria since 2014 as a mission from the Organization for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) supervised the destruction and removal of chemical weapons.

Al-Jaafari added that Syria sent an official letter to the Council’s members two days ago including highly accurate and credible information about preparations being made by the armed terrorist groups in Idleb and the countryside of Lattakia and Aleppo to use toxic chemicals against civilians with the aim of hindering the military operation against terrorism in these areas.

He pointed out that Syria and its allies have fought fierce battles and made remarkable achievements against terrorist organizations, mainly Daesh (ISIS), Jabhat al-Nusra and their affiliated groups, stressing that Syria will not surrender to political blackmail or direct aggression threats by the governments of the United States, Britain and France which committed different crimes, including supporting terrorism and ordering Jabhat al-Nusra and its affiliated groups, like the so-called “White Helmets”, to use chemical weapons against Syrian civilians in order to accuse the Syrian government and create a pretext for new aggression against Syria.

“Why would Syria use an internationally banned weapon, which it originally does not have and which achieves no military viability, but provides the pretext for the three aggressor forces to launch military action after another? Why are the three aggressors able to predict where and when the alleged chemical attack will take place and which kind of chemical weapons is to be used in Syria? Why do the Security Council and the OPCW remain unable to deal with information put forward by Syria in 156 official letters regarding the delivery of toxic chemical materials to terrorist groups in Syria to be used against civilians with the purpose of accusing the Syrian Arab army?” wondered al-Jaafari.

He made clear that some parties do not want to solve the crisis in Syria, rather, they seek investing in terrorism.

The Syrian diplomat affirmed that the US, British and French governments have failed over the past eight years to achieve their goals through providing support to terrorism in Syria, therefore they are now threatening to launch direct military attack against Syria and are illegally deploying troops on the Syrian territories.

He stressed that these governments will try to hinder the political process in Geneva, Astana and Sochi on settlement of crisis in Syria, impede efforts to eliminate remnants of terrorism in Idleb and other Syrian provinces, continue the coercive economic siege imposed on the Syrian people, prevent funding the reconstruction process in Syria and obstruct the return of displaced people inside Syria and abroad to their homeland.

Speaking at the session, Russia’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, refuted rumours about Syria’s possession of chemical weapons as baseless, pointing out that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) destroyed Syria’s stockpile of these weapons in accordance with the UN resolution No. 2118.

“Damascus does not have chemical weapons and nor does it have plans to use it,” said Nebenzia, adding that the Syrian government has continuously provided the OPCW with all information it has in this regard.

Nebenzia said that some aggressor states, which are strengthening their military presence in Syria, demand terrorists to launch new chemical attacks and blame the Syrian government for them which may serve as justification for carrying out military aggression against the country.

The Russian diplomat indicated that the terrorist organizations in Idleb are preparing for new chemical attacks, noting that Russia has provided the OPCW with information about the delivery of chemicals and equipment required for carrying out these attacks in terrorist-held areas, indicating that the so-called “White Helmets” organization is helping terrorists stage such fabricated scenarios similar to those in Douma.

He said that the continuity of such provocations will further increase tension in the Middle East and hinder the political process in Syria.