Russia To Ask Un To Investigate Syria’s Chemical Attacks

BEVERLY HILLS, April 11, (THEWILL) – Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday revealed that Moscow will request the United Nations to conduct an investigation into the April 4 chemical weapons incident in Syria.

According to comments carried by state media, Putin described the incident as a rebel provocation and said Russia has intelligence that such acts have been planned in other parts of Syria, including the capital Damascus.

THEWILL recalls that U.S. forces, on the orders of President Donald Trump, on April 7, conducted a missile strike on a Syrian military base that Washington alleged was responsible for a the chemical weapons attack in which numerous civilians were killed.

However, Putin, the main military backer of Syria's ruling regime and long-time ally of Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, said the U.S. missile strike was reminiscent of the 2003 attack on Iraq, which led to the rise of the terrorist group Islamic State.

Russia and Iran, another military backer of the Syrian government, on Monday jointly condemned the US strike and called for an objective investigation into the chemical weapons incident.

However, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for a two-day visit to include talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Although the U.S. has supported some rebel groups seeking to overthrow Assad, it has agreed with Russia on the need to eradicate terrorist groups, particularly Islamic State.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement ahead of Tillerson's visit that U.S.-Russian relations are “experiencing their most complicated period since the end of the Cold War.”

The Foreign Ministry threatened retaliatory measures against the U.S. if there is a lack of progress on resolving accumulated problems between the two great powers.