New York, 6 March 2024, (TDI): First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy of Russia addressed the UNSC during a briefing on the Syrian chemical file on 4 March 2024.
He argued that discussing the Syrian chemical file at UNSC once every three months is more than enough. He implied that Western delegations request these meetings merely to reiterate their standard anti-Syrian positions.
Dmitry Polyanskiy acknowledged the convening of the 26th round of consultations between the Syrian authorities and the OPCW’s Declaration Assessment Team.
He highlighted that the OPCW Technical Secretariat notified Syria about the resolution of three outstanding issues in the initial declaration.
In addition, he commended Syria’s cooperation with OPCW inspections. “Damascus has provided all necessary cooperation to inspections held by OPCW representatives”, he said.
Accusations of Political Bias and “Pseudo-Analytics”
Polyanskiy rejected the legitimacy of the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), accusing it of working against the principles of the CWC.
“The OPCW Technical Secretariat continues to “rubber stamp” politically biased “pseudo-analytics” under Western orders,” he said. He asserts that Russia does not intend to cooperate with or acknowledge the findings of the IIT, and neither does the Syrian leadership.
Polyanskiy contended that the OPCW has become a platform for Western countries to promote their self-interests. “Its Technical Secretariat turned into an obedient tool to serve them,” he added.
Also Read: World Youth Festival 2024 kicks off in Russia
Moreover, he criticized the December 2023 recommendations for collective measures against Syria. “This step contradicts both the CWC and the UN Charter, not to mention the risks it carries in terms of aggravating the already dire humanitarian situation in Syria,” he added.
Finally, he expressed dissatisfaction with the unwillingness of Western colleagues to discuss Israel’s alleged crimes against the civilian Palestinians.
Polyanskiy claimed that such discussions are “inconvenient for their Middle Eastern ally”. “We have something to work on together instead of holding meaningless events from someone else’s playbook,” he concluded.
){kind=link}