Russia, Syria push for return of UN chemical experts

Russian and Syrian foreign ministers on Monday strongly pushed for the return of United Nations inspectors to Syria to continue their probe into the use of chemical weapons, and again warned Washington against launching an attack.

The statement comes as US President Barack Obama, who accuses Syrian President Bashar Assad of killing hundreds of his own people in a chemical attack last month, is pressing for a limited strike against the Syrian government. It has denied launching the attack, insisting along with its ally Russia that the attack was launched by the rebels to drag the US into war.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after Monday’s talks with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem that UN chemical weapons experts should complete their investigation and present their findings to the UN Security Council.

“We have agreed to push for the soonest return of inspectors,” Lavrov said.

Moallem said his government was ready to host the UN team, and insisted that Syria is ready to use all channels to convince the Americans that it wasn’t behind the attack.

He added that Syria was ready for “full cooperation with Russia to remove any pretext for aggression.”

Neither minister, however, offered any evidence to back their claim of rebel involvement in the chemical attack.

Lavrov said that Russia will continue to promote a peaceful settlement and may try to convene a gathering of all Syrian opposition figures to join in negotiations. He added that a US attack on Syria would deal a fatal blow to peace efforts.

Lavrov wouldn’t say how Russia could respond to a possible US attack on Syria, saying that “we wouldn’t like to proceed from a negative scenario and would primarily take efforts to prevent a military intervention.”

President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would keep providing assistance to Syria in case of a US attack, but he and other Russian officials have made clear that Russia has no intention to engage in hostilities.

Lavrov also denied allegations that Russia may have sponsored a deal between the US and Syria during the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg last week, where Putin discussed the Syrian crisis with Obama.

“There won’t be and there can’t be any deal behind the back of the Syrian people,” Lavrov said.

Moscow has been steadfast in supporting the Assad government since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, and, at last week’s G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Putin said that Russia would help Syria in the event of a US-led strike.

Assad “asked me to pass on his thanks to Putin for his position during and after the G20 summit,” Moallem told Lavrov in Moscow, according to an AFP report.

The US, citing intelligence reports, says sarin gas was used in an August 21 attack outside Damascus, and that 1,429 people died, including 426 children. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information from a network of anti-regime activists, says it has so far only been able to confirm 502 dead.

The attack caused an international uproar and prompted Obama to seek Congressional approval of a military strike against Assad’s regime.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.