The United States calls on Russian Federation and Iran to join efforts to seek accountability for those responsible for using chemical weapons in Syria, White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release.
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While State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau would not preview what actions the U.S. would take at the Security Council, she told reporters Thursday that “the administration will continue to pursue all appropriate legal and diplomatic options” to hold the responsible parties accountable.
The White House said the US-led coalition targeting Islamic State militants in Syria would “continue to remove leaders from the battlefield with knowledge of these weapons and will target any related materials and attempts to manufacture such chemicals”.
The panel of inquiry, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), for the first time pointed the finger of blame at the Assad regime for chemical weapons use after years of denial from Damascus.
But Churkin repeatedly sidestepped questions about the team’s conclusion that the Syrian government used chlorine gas in two attacks, reiterating that the report is “very technical”, “quite complicated” and needs study.
USA and European officials have expressed concerns about Syria’s chemical weapons program after a watchdog revealed that it found traces of deadly nerve agents at sites that were not previously declared by the Damascus regime.
U.S. ambassador to UN Samantha Power said that the repeated use of chemical weapons in Syria violates UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and global standards and norms against chemical weapons use.
The UN Security Council will discuss the report next week and is likely to impose sanctions on Assad’s regime.
US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power called for “strong and swift action” by the Security Council.
Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington.
USA ambassador to the UN Samantha Power address the Security Council on the topic of chemical weapons use in Syria.
An investigation was carried out in nine selected cases where chemical weapons are believed to have been used amid the Syrian civil war.
The Syrian regime was found to be behind the attacks on Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015.
“When it comes to proliferation, use of chemical weapons, such weapons of mass destruction, we can not afford being weak and the council will have to act”, he said. The report said it was unclear who carried out the other six chemical attacks that were reviewed.
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The panel recommended further investigation of three other cases of suspected chemical weapons on the village of Zafr Zita, in Hama province, on April 28, 2014, and on two towns in Idlib: Qmenas on March 16, 2015 and Binnish on March 24, 2015. Power said the United States expects the JIM to continue investigating the remaining confirmed cases and any others referred by the OPCW fact-finding mission.
