Russia Rejects U.S. Evidence on Syrian Chemical Attack
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov dismissed as unconvincing the evidence
presented by Secretary of State John Kerry, indicating that Russia
would continue to block action at the United Nations.
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: September 2, 2013
Russia’s foreign minister on Monday dismissed as unconvincing the
evidence presented by Secretary of State John Kerry of chemical weapons
use by the Syrian government and said the United States had fallen far
short of making a case for international cooperation on military strikes
against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
“We were shown certain pieces of evidence that did not contain anything
concrete, neither geographical locations, nor names, nor evidence that
samples had been taken by professionals,” Foreign Minister Sergey V.
Lavrov said in a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International
Relations.
Mr. Lavrov’s remarks were the most pointed signal yet that Russia would
continue to use its veto in the United Nations Security Council to block
authorization of military intervention against the Syrian government,
even if the United States Congress grants President Obama the backing he
has requested for an attack.
Mr. Lavrov initially had appeared to develop a strong working
relationship with Mr. Kerry, a striking contrast with his often
acrimonious relationship with the former Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton. But the relationship has soured swiftly in recent weeks,
particularly after Mr. Obama canceled a planned summit in Moscow with
President Vladimir V. Putin.
“What we were shown before and recently by our American partners, as
well as by the British and French does not convince us at all,” Mr.
Lavrov said, adding, “There are no facts, there is simply talk about
‘what we definitely know.’ But when you ask for more detailed evidence,
they say that it is all classified, therefore it cannot be shown to us.
This means there are not such facts to encourage international
cooperation.”
Mr. Lavrov also took a direct jab at Mr. Kerry. “It is very strange to
hear, when we recently discussed the issue, my good colleague, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry, say that the American side had produced
irrefutable evidence for Russia of the Assad regime using chemical
weapons and then claiming that Russians deliberately refused to
recognize the fact.”
Later, in a news conference with his South African counterpart in
Moscow, Mr. Lavrov said that Russia would insist that the United States
comply with international agreements and not attack Syria without the
consent of the Security Council.
“If someone tries to make gross violations of international law a norm,
then we will create chaos,” Mr. Lavrov warned. “We will create a
situation where the U.N. Charter and the principles under which all the
nations of the world have signed up, including the principle of
unanimous agreement of the permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council, the so-called right of veto, which the United States insisted
on, then all of these principles will simply collapse.”
COPY http://www.nytimes.com/
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