Syria Denies Chemical Weapons Use
Published at
JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syria is denying new allegations that it’s deploying chemical weapons against opposition forces in President Bashar al-Assad’s desperate bid to remain in power.
A top Syrian official responded Wednesday to charges by an Israeli general that he had proof chemical weapons were deployed against rebels several times. The accusation comes after both France and Britain said they obtained soil samples from Syria that show traces of lethal agents.
However, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi insisted, “Even if Syria does have chemical weapons, our leadership and our military will not use them either against Syrians or against Israelis, above all for moral reasons and secondarily on legal and political grounds.”
Al-Zobai went as far as to say that even if Syria were to go to war against Israel, Damascus would not resort to chemical weapons.
The issue has become something of a political hot potato in Washington, with White House spokesman Jay Carney saying this week that there is still no concrete proof that Syria has deployed chemical or biological weapons, which they’re known to have.
The Obama administration maintains that if it can be proven chemical agents have been used, it would be a “game changer” in terms of how the U.S. would respond to the conflict.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio