Nebenzya warns about fake chemical weapons attack in Syria

Terrorists acting in close cooperation with the White Helmets non-governmental group plan to fake a chemical weapons attack near the Syrian city of Idlib, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told the UN Security Council session on Monday.

"Alarming reports continue coming that terrorist groups in Syria, in cooperation with the White Helmets, are not halting preparations to stage massive provocations with the use of toxic chemicals," he said. "Syrian colleagues regularly inform [UN] Security Council members about those signals."

"This information is available through Russian military as well," the ambassador stressed. "For instance, it was reported that on October 27, militants of the Turkistan Islamic Party (banned in Russia) transported 20 ten-liter tanks filled with chlorine from Maarrat al-Numaan."

According to Nebenzya, the provocation aims "to libel Syria as a nonproliferation violator and to trigger new acts of aggression against Damascus and also to bring shame on Russia for allegedly enabling ‘the regime’s atrocities’."

The Russian ambassador said that the Russian military specialists were monitoring the situation. "Vehicles of radiation, chemical and biological intelligence have been deployed at outposts in immediate proximity to the Idlib demilitarized zone to assess the situation," the diplomat said.