Russia loses bid to block new Syria chemical weapons probe

28 November 2019, 6:48 pm

Edit

A bid by Russia to block funding for a new team that will identify culprits behind toxic attacks in Syria fails, with member states at the global chemical watchdog overwhelmingly approving a new budget.

Moscow and its allies were trying to block next year’s budget for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — a move which would potentially have left the entire agency unable to operate — if it included money for the new Identification and Investigations Team (IIT).

But 106 member states vote in favor of the new budget, broadly seen as a confidence vote in the OPCW’s activities, while only 19 countries including Russia and China vote against.

— AFP