Russia to Syria: Don't Use Your Chemical Weapons - East Idaho News
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Russia to Syria: Don’t Use Your Chemical Weapons

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WFL 093?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1343210067390Stockbyte/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — No matter what Syria is saying about its alleged arsenal of chemical weapons, strong ally Russia contends Damascus shouldn’t even think about using poisonous gases in its conflict with rebel forces.

The warning came Tuesday following a Syrian government spokesman revealing that his government indeed has chemical weapons that would only be used on aggressors from outside the country but then apparently backing off from the admission.

That was enough truth for Moscow, however, which told Damascus to adhere to a 1968 ratification of a 1925 international protocol that prohibits chemical weapons as a method of warfare.

In a statement, the Russia Foreign Ministry said it “proceeds from the assumption that Syrian authorities will continue to strictly adhere to the undertaken international obligations.”

Russia has been criticized by the West for blocking resolutions in the United Nations that would possibly force a regime change in Syria.  However, Moscow has also shown impatience at times with the way Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has conducted the war against opposition forces.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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