Russia accuses US of failing to comply with weapon convention
(VOVWORLD) - The US-led international coalition's reported airstrikes in Syria with the use of banned white phosphorus munitions must be investigated at the level of the UN Security Council and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) if the reports are confirmed, deputy chair of the Russian parliament's lower house’s defense committee Yuri Shvytkin said on Saturday.
 Victims of an attack using white banned phosphorous in eastern Ghouta, Syria, on March 7, 2018 (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Saturday that the coalition had carried out an airstrike on the city of Hajin in Deir Ezzor province, using the internationally prohibited white phosphorus munitions, but a representative of the Pentagon said all weapons systems used by the US-led coalition in Syria comply with the Law of Armed Conflict.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW Alexander Shulgin said the US remains the only country which possesses chemical weapons as Russia destroyed its stockpile in 2017, which was documented by the OPCW.