US official calls on Assad regime to destroy chemical weapons
The Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Joseph Mansu, called on the Assad regime to adhere to and destroy chemical weapons.
In an interview with the American “Al-Hurra” channel, “Manso” said: “The United States estimates that the Assad regime used chemical weapons at least 50 times during the conflict in Syria.”
“I can say that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to document the nature and scope of these atrocities,” he added.
He pointed out during his speech that the United Nations has a team working alongside the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in its investigations, “and it has documented four specific cases, and the organization itself has documented four other cases, and they are continuing to work with civil society and with many in an attempt to obtain documents to establish evidence of
The use of chemical weapons in this conflict.”
He continued, “I am calling on the Assad regime, and I know that the majority of countries in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons agree with me that this regime must cooperate with the investigation team and with the organization.”
During his speech, Mansu referred to a vote in one of the organization’s meetings, in which the majority chose to impose sanctions on the Assad regime, saying: “In a recent meeting of the organization, 87 countries voted for and 15 against imposing sanctions on the Assad regime and withdrawing the right to vote from the regime for its lack of cooperation.”
He denounced the failure of the allies of the Assad regime to cooperate with the investigations of the organization, in a way that amounted to obstructing them, explaining that “this team sought to obtain information from a number of sources. Unfortunately, I have to say that the allies of the Assad regime in general did not cooperateTeam work.”
He urged Russia, denouncing its support for the Assad regime, saying that “empowering the Assad regime is irresponsible, and we call on the Russian Federation to also appeal to the Assad regime to cooperate with this investigation.”
