Putin Calls Syria Chem Use Claims 'Nonsense', Demands U.S. Proof
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday dismissed as "nonsense" claims that the Syria regime has used chemical weapons and demanded that the United States provide proof.
Speaking after the United States released an intelligence report, Putin rejected communications intercepts as evidence, saying that they cannot be used to take "fundamental decisions" like using military force on Syria.
"Common sense speaks for itself," he told journalists in Vladivostok when asked about claims that the Syrian army used chemical weapons.
"Syrian government troops are on the offensive and have surrounded the opposition in several regions. In these conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for a military intervention is utter nonsense."
"Regarding the position of our American colleagues, friends, who affirm that government troops used weapons of mass destruction, in this case chemical weapons, and say that they have proof, well, let them show it to the United Nations inspectors and the Security Council," he said.
Saying that such evidence is classified "does not stand up to criticism," Putin said. "It's outward disrespect toward partners and world actors. If there is evidence, it must be presented. If they don't show it, that means there is none."
"Talk that these are once again some kind of intercepts of some kind of communications that don't prove anything cannot be used as a basis for such fundamental decisions like using force against a sovereign state," he said.
It was Putin's first public reaction to the U.S. claims that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, killing 1,429 people.
The remarks follow a U.S. intelligence report regarding the killings and remarks by U.S. President Barack Obama that the attack is "a challenge to the world".
Russia, Syria's vocal and powerful ally, has vowed to block any action against the regime of Syria's Bashar Assad in the U.N. Security Council, where it is a permanent member.
