US Shares OPCW Conclusions, Assesses Syrian Gov't. Retains 'Sufficient Chemicals' - Pompeo

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2020) The United States supports the outcomes of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and assesses that Syria possess significant amount of chemicals like chlorine and sarin, US Secretary of State Mile Pompeo said on Wednesday.

"The United States shares the OPCW's conclusions and assesses that the Syrian regime retains sufficient chemicals - specifically sarin and chlorine - and expertise from its traditional chemical weapons (CW) program to use sarin, to produce and deploy chlorine munitions, and to develop new CW," Pompeo said. The Syrian military also has a variety of chemical-capable munitions - including grenades, aerial bombs and improvised munitions - that it can use with little to no warning."

The OPCW's newly-formed body in charge of identifying the perpetrators of chemical attacks said in its first report on Wednesday that the Syrian Air Force had dropped bombs containing sarin and chlorine on the town of Ltamenah in Hama province in March 2017.

The Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) was established in 2018. Russia opposed the move, warning against expanding the OPCW's competence from conducting probes to attributing blame and saying that only the UN Security Council is eligible to make such judgments.

"The United States condemns the use of chemical weapons as reported by the OPCW IIT and demands that the Syrian Arab Republic immediately cease all development, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons," Pompeo said.

OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said that the IIT is "not a judicial or quasi-judicial body with the authority to assign individual criminal responsibility, nor does the IIT have the authority to make final findings on non-compliance with the Convention."

The IIT says its mission is to identify and report on all information potentially relevant to the origin of those chemical weapons in those instances in which the OPCW's Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) determines or has determined that use or likely use occurred.

The FFM concluded in June 2018 that sarin and chlorine were very likely used as a chemical weapon in Ltamenah on March 24, 2017 and March 25, 2017, respectively.

The Syrian government has repeatedly refuted the allegations of the chemical weapons use, saying that the full destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal was confirmed by the OPCW in 2016.