Syria condemned a recent decision that Western states sought to pass during an emergency conference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), considering it an attempt to politicize the organization’s work.

“The Syrian Arab Republic expresses deep concern over the blackmail tactics and threats adopted by a group of Western states, especially the ones involved in the tripartite aggression against Syria: the US, UK and France, to pass a decision during the emergency conference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement commenting on the outcomes of the OPCW emergency conference.

The decision, according to the statement, allows for a politicization of the OPCW by Western countries to be used to mount aggressions against sovereign independent states by invoking chemical weapons pretexts.

The ministry added that the decision contradicts the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and sets a dangerous precedent in the international system, granting a technical organization the powers to conduct criminal and legal investigations outside of its mandate to assign blame in cases involving the use of chemical weapons.

As Syria points out the glaring legal irregularities in the decision which have gone beyond the CWC provisions, it affirms that it garnered the support of less than half of the member states, which calls into question its legality, according to the Ministry’s statement.

The Ministry warned that the decision will only cause further complications as regards the OPCW’s competency which is thought to cripple its work and increase internal polarization, which renders the decision inapplicable.

Syria reiterates vehement condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by any party, anywhere and under any circumstance, the statement said, noting that the chemical lies propagated by the US, France, UK and Saudi Arabia against Syria will be divulged soon.

Source: SANA