Russia says NATO, Ukraine plan to stage chemical attack in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused NATO countries and Ukraine of staging a chemical weapons attack involving the Syrian army and Russian forces to discredit them at the United Nations, TASS reported on Tuesday.
The SVR added that the United States and Britain are increasingly resorting to “dirty tricks” and acts of “outright terror” to undermine Russia’s standing, as their efforts to achieve a strategic defeat for Russia in Ukraine falter.
The intelligence agency highlighted a pattern of accusations made by Western nations at the U.N., alleging that Syria, with Russia’s consent, has used chemical weapons against civilian populations in areas controlled by the opposition factions.
“According to the SVR information, precisely this provocation is being prepared by intelligence services of some NATO countries and Ukraine jointly with terrorist groups active in the Idlib province in northern Syria,” the statement read.
“The plan is to stage the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian army and the Russian military contingent in the Syrian Arab Republic and then launch a campaign to discredit Damascus and Moscow in the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” the SVR stressed.