30 sep

UPPDATERING

Maximilian Forte – On UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and Syria: Reality, Resolutions, Representations

Note the prohibitions that have been stacked into UNSCR 2118 that work against the U.S., France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and any other states working to overthrow the Syrian government by arming the “rebels”:
Recalling the obligation under resolution 1540 (2004) that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons and their means of delivery….
Decides that Member States shall inform immediately the Security Council of any violation of resolution 1540(2004), including acquisition by non-State actors of chemical weapons, their means of delivery and related materials in order to take necessary measures therefore….

Christof Lehmann – A Critical Review of Security Council Resolution 2118 (2013) on Syria

UNSC Resolution 2118 (2013) A Critical Review with regards to Syria´s territorial integrity, Syria´s accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention, attempted blackmail by a top-US diplomat, the unlawful threat of the use of force, the omission of evidence in support of chemical weapons use by State and non-State parties in the anti-Syrian alliance, the falsification of evidence, bias with regards to the prosecution of war crimes, the repetition of historic mistakes made in Iraq, and dangerous ambiguities on the use of force under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Press TV – Russia warns of more gas use by Syria militants

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow has serious suspicions that foreign-backed militants fighting in Syria will continue attempts to use chemical weapons in the Arab country.
“We have serious suspicions that these attempts [to use chemical weapons] will continue,” Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian Kommersant daily published on Monday.

voiceofrussia.com – UN chemical experts leave Damascus at end of mission

A team of UN chemical weapons experts investigating alleged use of the banned weapons in Syria left Damascus on Monday at the end of their mission.
The team, which arrived on Wednesday, is due to submit a report next month about seven alleged chemical weapons attacks during the conflict in Syria.

Robert Fisk – A Syrian solution to civil conflict? The Free Syrian Army is holding talks with Assad’s senior staff, Secret approach to the President could reshape the whole war

Six weeks ago, a two-man delegation arrived in secret in Damascus: civilians from Aleppo who represented elements of the Free Syrian Army, the rebel group largely composed of fighters who deserted the regime’s army in the first year of the war. They came under a guarantee of safety, and met, so I am told, a senior official on the staff of President Bashar al-Assad. And they carried with them an extraordinary initiative – that there might be talks between the government and FSA officers who “believed in a Syrian solution” to the war.
The delegation made four points: that there must be an “internal Syrian dialogue”; that private and public properties must be maintained; that there must be an end to – and condemnation of – civil, sectarian, ethnic strife; and that all must work for a democratic Syria where the supremacy of law would be dominant. There was no demand – at least at this stage – for Assad’s departure.
The reply apparently came promptly. There should indeed be “a dialogue within the Syrian homeland”; no preconditions for the dialogue; and a presidential guarantee of safety for any FSA men participating. And now, it seems, another remarkable development is under way: in seven rebel-held areas of Aleppo, most of them under the control of the FSA, civil employees can return to work in their offices, and government institutions and schools can reopen. Students who have become militiamen over the past two years will be disarmed and return to their classrooms.

Press TV – Mortar shell hits Chinese Embassy in Damascus

rt.com – Iran behind anti-WMD rider in chemical watchdog’s decision on Syria – Lavrov

French were ‘hours’ from military strikes on Syria before phone call from Obama

French President Francois Hollande called off military strikes against Syria on 31 August following a phone call from the US President only hours before fighter jets were set to take off, a French weekly magazine has revealed.

Syriens utrikesminister i FN, från rt.com – Syrian FM to UN: ‘Terrorists from 83 countries fighting in Syria’

Muallem then accused “regional and Western countries that are well known to all of us” of supplying chemical agents to “terrorists who used poisonous gases” in Syria.

Press TV – US, UK, France blocked naming CW culprits: Syria

Syria Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem says the US, Britain and France have blocked the naming of the real perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks in the Arab country.
In his address to the 68th UN General Assembly on Monday, Muallem also warned that ”terrorists” fighting against President Bashar al-Assad government are being supplied with chemical weapons.

Michael Parenti – Syria, Sarin, and Casus Belli

Why do (some) U.S. leaders seek war against Syria? Like Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and dozens of other countries that have felt America’s terrible swift sword—Syria has been committing economic nationalism, trying to chart its own course rather than putting itself in service to the western plutocracy. Like Iran, China, Russia and some other nations, Syria has currency controls and other restrictions on foreign investments. Like those other nations, Syria lacks the proper submissiveness. It is not a satellite to the U.S. imperium. And any nation that is not under the politico-economic sway of the U.S. global plutocracy is considered an enemy or a potential enemy.
The Assad government had social programs for its people, far from perfect services but still better than what might be found in many U.S. satellite countries. When Iraqi refugees fled to Syria to escape U.S. military destruction, the Assad government gave them full benefits. So with the Libyan refugees who crossed over a few years later. Generally Damascus presided over a multi-ethnic society, relatively free of sectarian intolerance and violence.

Mind the Credibility Gap: Syria and the History of US War Disinformation

Thierry Meyssan – The United States Feared No More

Never before has the authority of the masters of the world been so publicly challenged – a sign that after their Syrian retreat, they are no longer to be feared.

slut på uppdateringen _____________________________

Hur ska man tolka de här uttalandena av en av de verkliga krigsförespråkande hökarna i USA?
Press TV – Susan Rice: Regime change US objective in Syria

Rice added that the latest UN resolution which is aimed at destroying Syria’s chemical weapons is not limited to President Assad’s government.
“Now, the resolution and the agreement doesn’t speak about Assad as an individual, it speaks about the requirements and the obligations of the Syrian government. And that’s an important distinction, that whatever Syrian government is there, near-term or in the future, will have the same obligation to implement these commitments and this resolution faithfully. So this is not specific to Assad.”

voiceofrussia.com – Lavrov hopes West will stop Syrian opposition from derailing chemical weapons agreements

Russia will persuade the Syrian government to guarantee a smooth procedure of the elimination of chemical weapons and the West on its part should send a similar message to the Syrian opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his interview with The Kommersant.
On the other hand, Lavrov pointed out that the Western countries and the Persian Gulf states do not have access to and influence on all the forces currently waging a war in Syria.

globalresearch.ca – Interview with British, Canadian and Swedish Terrorists in Syria

29 sep

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich – UNSC Resolution 2118 on Syria: In Response to False Flag Chemical Weapons Attack. US Backed Terrorists “Get Away with Mass Killing”

There has been zero evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons on August 21s or at any other time. While the UN inspectors report did confirm the use of chemical weapons, it was outside its mandate to determine who carried out the heinous crime. Western experts were quick to point to the trajectory of the rockets as evidence of Assad’s involvement conveniently leaving unmentioned the important possibility of mobile launching by non-government forces.
While there is no evidence (or motive) pointing to the Assad government, there is little doubt among analysts that the rebels were responsible for the chemical attacks.

”eller varje användande av kemiska vapen av vem det än är i Syrien”, kan medföra kapitel 7, dvs möjlighet att använda våld! Står det verkligen så i resolutionen man kom överens om i fredags? Då behöver bara de väpnade gängen upprepa det som hände den 21 augusti, om man nu antar att de var de som låg bakom, i samarbete med västs säkerhetstjänster och medierna. Iscensätt en attack med kemiska vapen och skicka upp några videor på youtube och påstå att det var ”regimen” som utförde den, och medierna drar igång en kampanj på högsta växeln. Så är vi tillbaka till samma situation som i slutet av augusti och början av september med hot om missilanfall! En sådan lucka kan väl inte Ryssland och Kina ha lämnat!
voiceofrussia.com – UN Syria resolution may allow action against rebel supporters – Rick Rozoff

But what’s most alarming is that the penultimate demand in the resolution, Number 21, and I’m reading it verbatim, decides in the event of non-compliance with this resolution including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter

Men det står så i nästa artikel också, med den skrivningen behöver man inte ens bry sig om att ta reda på vem som ligger bakom en ny attack med kem-vapen!
Press TV – Syria’s Assad rejects talks with Qaeda-linked groups

”decides, in the event of noncompliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.”

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ruled out the possibility of negotiations with al-Qaeda-linked militant groups, who ask for foreign military intervention in the Arab country.
”Regarding the militants, if they give up their arms we’ll be ready to discuss with them anything like with any other citizen,” he said in an interview with Italy’s state-run Rai News 24 television network on Sunday.
”We cannot discuss with al-Qaeda offshoots and organizations that are affiliated with al-Qaeda,” Assad said, adding, ”We cannot negotiate with the people who ask for foreign intervention and military intervention in Syria.”

! – almanar.com.lb – Russia Made Sure UN Syria Resolution Leaves no Loopholes for Use of Force

Press TV – UN chemical inspectors probing 7 sites in Syria

A team of UN chemical weapons experts has launched a probe into seven sites across crisis-stricken Syria, where chemical weapons were allegedly used.
The team is expected to look into two locations in the city of Aleppo, located 310 kilometers (193 miles) northwest of Damascus, one site in the city of Idlib, situated 295 kilometers (183 miles) north of Damascus, and four others on the outskirts of Damascus.
Three of the alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria happened after the August 21 incident in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, where hundreds of people lost their lives.
The team, led by Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Syria for its second visit on September 25, and hopes to finish its work by Monday.
It is working on a comprehensive report into the allegations that it hopes to have finished by late October.
Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari has accused ”militants” of using chemical gas against the Syrian army troops in the towns of Bahhariya, Jobar and Ashrafieh Sahnaya.

Ny intervju med Syriens president, video och utskrift på engelska – President Bashar al-Assad interview with the Italian Rai_News_24 TV

28 sep

Christof Lehmann – UN Security Council adopts Resolution on Syria unanimously

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution on international control over and the destruction of Syria´s chemical weapons. The resolution also stresses that non-state actors who have used or use chemical weapons in Syria and state actors supporting them must be held accountable.
Members ot the Security Council vote on the resolution. UN Photo-Mark GartenAfter the Security Council unanimously adopted UNSC Resolution 2118 (2013), UN Secretary General Ban Kyi-moon called the resolution the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time, and stressed that the resolution aims at holding the Geneva 2 conference as soon as possible.
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The Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that the text of UNSC Resolution 2118 (2013) had not been passed under the UN Charter´s Chapter VII nor did it allow for coercive measures.
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Open Questions. Statements by respectively John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov underline that there are great differences with regards to their understanding of what consequences non-compliance would or should have to have. While the Russian Foreign Minister stressed that no military action would be possible without renewed debates at the Security Council, and on the basis of evidence, Secretary of State Kerry gives the impression that military consequences are understood as a given fact in the case of non-compliance.

voiceofrussia.com – UN aims to hold international peace conference on Syria in mid-November

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday Moscow time the international community aims to hold an international peace conference on Syria in mid-November, the UN News Centre said. ”The United Nations is ready to host Geneva-2,” the UN chief was quoted as saying.

Press TV – Syria envoy welcomes UNSC resolution

Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari has welcomed a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council to eliminate chemical weapons in the country, saying it covers most of Damascus’ concerns.
Speaking to reporters after the UN Security Council meeting on Friday, he called on Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and the United States to abide by the resolution and stop supporting militants fighting in Syria.
Ja’afari added that the countries supporting the militants should be held accountable if they continued arming them.
”You can’t bring terrorists from all over the world and send them into Syria in the name of jihad and then pretend that you are working for peace,” he said.
The envoy added that Damascus was ”fully committed” to taking part at a proposed November peace conference in Geneva aimed at ending the unrest in the country.

rt.com – Russia made sure UNSC Syria resolution leaves no loopholes for use of force – Lavrov

rt.com – No country can usurp right to judge chemical weapons use – Lavrov

plenglish.com – Russia Gives U.S. Evidence on Use of Sarin by Syrian Opposition

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov handed over to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry information about the involvement of Syrian opposition in the chemical attack with sarin gas on August 21 near Damascus.
Lavrov told The Washington Post that there is evidence that proves the same nature of the chemical agent used in the attacks in Aleppo and on the outskirts of Damascus on March 19.
Asked about the issue, the head of Russian diplomacy reaffirmed that there is ”very good evidence that ratifies the responsibility of the Syrian armed groups in the events”.
He explained that during a meeting on Wednesday, he had handed over to Kerry a compilation of evidence that, he noted, are not revolutionary at all and are accessible on the internet.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights i London är ju inte precis någon oberoende och tillförlitlig källa, men t.o.m. siffror därifrån visar att den grupp som har flest dödade under Syrien-krisen är syriska armén – antiwar.com – Most Reported Deaths in Syria Have Not Been Committed by Assad Forces

Al-Hamwi: Commission of Inquiry Report on Syria Biased and Selective

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Dr. Faisal al-Hamwi slammed the new international Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on Syria as biased and selective.
”We have been presented today with a new draft resolution that is biased and selective, whose patrons have rebuffed every overture for cooperation and constructive contribution offered them by the delegations…a resolution that has overstepped the jurisdiction of the the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the UN Security Council and a number of humanitarian organizations,” Dr. al-Hamwi said.

Press TV – Syria FSA militants declare war on al-Qaeda linked ISIL

27 sep

UPPDATERING

Turkisk polis beslagtog för en vecka sen Red Mercury (rött kvicksilver?) när en bil med två turkar och en syrier stoppades. Denna substans används bl.a. till kärnvapen. Man kan tänka sig att detta skulle planteras någonstans i Syrien och ”upptäckas” och presenteras som bevis på att Syrien försöker framställa kärnvapen eller något liknande!
Christof Lehmann – Turkish Police seized rare Explosive with Possible Nuclear Utility

On 21 September, Turkish Police seized Red Mercury, a rare Substance which is sold at USD 1 million per Liter, at a Police Checkpoint in Turkey’s Kayseri Province. Red Mercury is, among others, used for triggering Hydrogen Bombs. The explosive contraband was seized from two Turkish and one Syrian national.
…
The question, whether an attempt was made to “set-up the Syrian government” as having a covert nuclear weapons program or as participating in nuclear proliferation, to justify US aggression against Syria or further sanctions against Iran is not necessarily a far fetched one.

En svensk expert på internationell lag varnar för att en text som antyder att syriska regeringen låg bakom gas-attacken den 21 aug kan öppna en farlig bakdörr till möjligheter att ställa representanter för syriska regeringen eller armén inför Haag-domstolen.
Christof Lehmann – Security Council Vote on Syria Friday or Saturday. No Chapter 7 Option

Also the United States UN Envoy, Samantha Power, confirmed that an agreement had been reached between Russia and the USA. Powers’ statement however, is raising questions whether the draft resolution assigns any guilt with regards to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Powers said, that the draft resolution is “legally obligating Syria to give up chemical weapons they used on their people. … The draft UNSC Resolution establishes that Syria’s use of chemical weapons is a threat to international peace and security and creates a new norm against the use of CW,” she wrote via Twitter. (Emphasis added)
A Swedish expert in international law contacted nsnbc international, saying on condition of anonymity, that any UNSC resolution that implies that Syria in fact has used chemical weapons against the Syrian people could have serious and complex legal implications. The Swedish expert warned, that any reference of that nature in the resolution could leave a backdoor for charging members of the Syrian government and the Syrian armed forces for chemical weapons use in The Haag, even though all available evidence points towards foreign backed terrorists being the perpetrators of the attack in East Ghouta and Khan al-Assal.
The text of the draft resolution is handled behind closed doors at the UNSC and will not be available for analysis until after the vote and the publication of the adopted resolution by the United Nations.

Ny intervju med Mother Agnes – rt.com – ‘Staged and scripted’: Mother Agnes finalizes chronology of Damascus chemical attack

…those children are the children of whom? From where did you get them? Why are you using them and manipulating them? Are they alive or are they dead? Now it is a humanitarian case and we’re asked to bring it to the highest level of the humanitarian and human rights community in the world.
RT: How did the UN respond to your findings?
MA: I said directly in a meeting with the commission of inquiry that I have been viewing the videos and that my impression was that they were a fake. They were very much interested. They’ve asked me to transmit to them the videos as well as my own observation.
Until today I have just transmitted to the commission of inquiry and also to the office of the high commissioner of human rights in Geneva my 50-page study. I did not transmit until today the videos because I wanted to be sure about my work and I will transmit to them, remit to them in an official way the whole work of chronology and evidences that they will be able to see, to view it in an audio-visual way.

voiceofrussia.com – Bomb kills at least 20 in Damascus provinc? – NGO – almanar.com.lb – Damascus Car Bomb Kills 20 People at Least – Press TV – 60 killed in car bomb blast in Damascus suburb

voiceofrussia.com – Military action against Syria can only make matters worse – video från Lavrovs tal

Applying the principle of outside military intervention to the Syrian situation is ‘devoid of sense and also very dangerous’, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, speaking to the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations.
”Unfortunately, many argue that although banned by the UN Charter, the use of force and threats to use force are potent methods to solve conflicts between states.”
”At the same time, past experience shows that outside military intervention is senseless, useless and only makes matters worse. Forceful intervention is fraught with eroding the world order and destroying the safeguards against the proliferation of dangerous weapon systems.”

Chemical Solution? Draft resolution on Syria weapons agreed, implies no immediate force

Den libanesiske fd generalen tror inte att väst med allierade kommer att fortsätta att beväpna och stödja de väpnade gängen!
Ex-Lebanese Army Commander: Assad fall would plunge Middle East in chaos, General Michel Aoun, a former Lebanese Army Commander, currently a politician and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.

alalam.ir – More Israeli missiles found in Syria’s Daraa

slut på uppdateringen _______________________

Tydligen är en FN-grupp på plats för att undersöka platser där kemiska vapen påstås ha använts tidigare, som platsen utanför Aleppo i mars. Så här skriver Sveriges Radio idag: ”Det ser ut som att inspektörer kommer vara på plats redan på tisdag i Syrien.” Är det så att det är olika grupper, en som ska undersöka tidigare incidenter och en som ska hantera förstörandet av regeringens kemiska vapen, och västmedierna försöker låtsas som att den förra inte finns? (UPPDATERING – nu, strax därefter, nämns den andra i ett inlägg )
voiceofrussia.com – Chemical experts to complete work in Syria Monday – UN

A team of UN experts investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria expects to complete its in-country work by Monday, the United Nations said on Friday.
In a statement issued from Damascus, the UN said the team would investigate seven alleged attack.

Press TV – Syria CW probe must start by Tuesday: Draft resolution

A draft resolution on Syria, agreed by Russia and the US, says the UN team of chemical weapons experts must start inspection of the Syria’s chemical stockpile by Tuesday.
On Friday, fresh details appeared about the draft resolution which is to be discussed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) later on Friday.

Senaste budet, inget kapitel 7 – Press TV –Russia, US reach accord on UNSC resolution on Syria – rt.com – No ‘military measures’ in Syria draft resolution – Lavrov

The draft resolution “does not envision any actions based on Chapter 7 of the UN Charter,” which allows military action to restore peace and security, Lavrov said.

Carlos Martinez – Decriminalizing Bashar al Assad: Towards a More Effective Anti-War Movement

The Syrian state has been under direct attack by western imperialism for the last two and a half years (although the US and others have been “accelerating the work of reformers” for much longer than that). The forms of this attack are many: providing weapons and money to opposition groups trying to topple the government; implementing wide-ranging trade sanctions; providing practically unlimited space in the media for the opposition whilst effecting a near-total media blackout on pro-government sources; and relentlessly slandering the Syrian president and government. In short, the western media and governments have – consciously and deliberately – “created this climate that legitimates” a military regime change operation against Syria.

26 sep

UPPDATERING

voiceofrussia.com – Russia ‘very close’ to agreement on Syria resolution, unlike US – Lavrov

Russia, unlike the US, is ”very close” to an agreement on the resolution on Syria chemical weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Thursday.
”Russia is very close, the US isn’t”, Lavrov said responding to a question about the progress on Syria resolution.
Lavrov also added that the resolution submitted to UN Security Council is largely in line with Geneva deal.

slut på uppdateringen _______________

Här påstår man att en överenskommelse ska ha nåtts om en resolution där en hänvisning till kapitel 7 ingår! Om det är sant får man anta att det är en lös formulering och att de våldsbenägna nationerna inte automatiskt ges rätt att anfalla om de får sådana idéer, utan att ärendet ska tas upp i säkerhetsrådet så att Ryssland och Kina får en chans att lägga in sina veton.
voiceofrussia.com – Security Council reaches agreement on Syria chem weapons resolution – UN diplomats

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council appear to have reached agreement on a resolution requiring Syria to dismantle its chemical weapons stockpiles, said unnamed UN diplomats.
The comments came a day after Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Gennady Gatilov, said negotiators had overcome a major hurdle and agreed that the resolution would include a reference to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security.

voiceofrussia.com – Format of high-level meeting on Syria expanded – UN spokesperson

A format of a high-level meeting on preparations for an international conference on Syria has been expanded but names of all the participants of the meeting will be announced later, the UN’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said on Thursday.
“This is a high-level meeting. We said before it was going to be a trilateral meeting between Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US State Secretary John Kerry, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Lakhdar Brahimi, Arab League Special Envoy to Syria. Now the format has been expanded and further details will be revealed later,” Nesirky said.
Earlier, he said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would hold the meeting on Friday.

almanar.com.lb – Assad: Our Enemies Are Confused, We Have Weapons That Can Paralyze Israel

Talking about Syria’s enemies, Assad said: “They are stressed. The failure they have ended in due to political and diplomatic confusion could prompt them to move in an unreasonable and hysterical way. For that, don’t find strange any diplomatic, political and security escalation, it will be unrealistic, it is not more than a bubble or media war in a bid to retake initiative.”
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Asked by the Lebanese writer whether it is a strategic loss for Syria to lose its chemical weapon, Assad said: “We had produced our chemical weapon, during the eighties of the last century, in a bid to deter Israel. However it is no more deterrent and today we have weapons that are more important and sophisticated through which we can paralyze Israel in seconds.”

almanar.com.lb – Nationalities of Militants in Syria .. in Figures

According to the British newspaper, the study showed that the number of insurgents fighting against the Syrian army is estimated at about 100 thousand gunmen distributed to about a thousand armed band, who came from 83 countries, including all Arab countries except Djibouti.

rt.com – Homemade sarin was used in attack near Damascus – Lavrov

Russia has enough evidence to assert that homemade sarin was used on August 21 in a chemical attack near Damascus, the same type but in higher concentration than in an Aleppo incident earlier this year, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said.
“On the occasion of the incident in the vicinity of Aleppo on March 19, 2013 when the United Nations, under the pressure of some Security Council members, didn’t respond to the request of the Syrian government to send inspectors to investigate, Russia, at the request of the Syrian government, investigated that case, and this report, i.e. the results of this investigation are broadly available to the Security Council and publicly,” Lavrov said.
“The main conclusion is that the type of sarin used in that incident was homemade. We also have evidence to assert that the type of sarin used on August 21 was the same, only of higher concentration.”

voiceofrussia.com – Some nations want a ‘free hand’ in Syria – Ryabkov

Syria was, of course, tabled at today’s panel. The recent Russian initiative to put the Syrian chemical stockpile under international control is a clear diplomatic victory that helped avert a new military conflict. But it feels like a very brief, shaky truce. What must be done in order to beef it up?
I agree with you that there is still no safeguard against a military operation. We have fended the threat of a brute force solution for the time being and are working on consolidating our progress to turn this respite into a long-lasting peace to avert the danger once and for all. What is to be done next? We must carry on with the Lavrov-Kerry plan. Let’s be fair to our US partners. They agreed with many arguments that we made, although Washington continues to pressure the regime and support its opposition in Syria, to supply it with weapons.

sana.sy – President al-Assad interview with TeleSUR TV

TeleSUR: Mr. President, going back to Syria and the chemical weapons issue. What are the real guarantees provided by your government that the list you submitted on your chemical arsenal is truly representative of the weapons you possess? And what are the guarantees you provide to the UN investigators in order that they do their job, inspect the sites and put the chemical weapons under international control?
President Assad: Our relationship on this issue will be with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Syria is not required to provide guarantees to the world or to the organization, it is required to deal with specific mechanisms or to abide by specific mechanisms stipulated in the chemical weapons convention. And as I said before, Syria is committed to all agreements it signs.
Syria has recently sent the required data to the OPCW. Shortly, OPCW’s experts will visit Syria to familiarize themselves with the status of these weapons. As a government, we do not have any serious obstacles. However, there is always the possibility that the terrorists will obstruct the work of the investigators in order to prevent them from reaching the identified sites, either because they have their own motives or because they are acting on instructions from the states that support and finance them. Either way, we expect that their objective is to blame the Syrian government for not cooperating with the investigators. But as far as we are concerned as a government, we have no problem with agreeing to the mechanisms provided by in this agreement.

25 sep

rt.com – Chemical weapons held by all sides in Syria should be destroyed – Lavrov

During a “constructive” meeting on the sidelines of UNGA, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have agreed to continue pushing towards destruction of “all” chemical weapons in Syria under international supervision.
“There are some serious concerns that the Syrian opposition may possess components of chemical weapons,” Lavrov told the press after the meeting with his counterpart. “All chemical weapons must be destroyed in Syria including hazardous materials in possession of the opposition,” he was quoted by Interfax.
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One of the main sticking points is a possible Security Council resolution that would include possibility of the use of force under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Russia as well as China have continually opposed the inclusion of any such reference in a draft UN resolution.

rt.com – UN chemical weapons experts to return to Syria Wednesday – Moscow

Patrik Paulov – ”Förfalskade bevis för kemisk attack”, Omfattande granskning av filmer från Ghouta

Den rapport som ISTEAMS sammanställt bör tas på allvar. Det avgörande är att den kraftigt ifrågasätter den ”sanning” som lagts fram av de syriska rebellerna och deras uppbackare i väst. De många frågetecken som väcks av rapporten måste undersökas vidare.
Det är viktigt att åter påpeka att ISTEAMS undersökning inte på något vis utesluter att kemiska vapen använts eller att många människor dödats i Ghouta. Men dess slutsats är att rebellernas filmatiserade skildring av vad som hänt inte visar verkligheten utan iscensatts i ett tydligt syfte. Nämligen att angripa den syriska regeringen och legitimera en västligt militär attack på Syrien.

jinge.se – Gasattacken – kan Saudiarabien och Israel vara inblandade?

Julie Lévesque and Prof Michel Chossudovsky – The Ghouta Chemical Attacks: US-Backed False Flag? Killing Syrian Children to Justify a “Humanitarian” Military Intervention

voiceofrussia.com – VoR investigation: Controversy surrounding MintPress chemical weapons Ghouta report continues

It does not surprise Professor Chossudovsky that Ms Gavlak now wants her name to be retracted from the article. “Obviously, she want to be cleared of that because she is threatened by Saudi Arabia and she also risks to lose her job with Associated Press”, says Chossudovsky.
Chossudovsky also contends that this story is very significant because “everything suggests that what Ms Gavlak and Mr Ababneh reported in that article is correct”. While the expert admits that the Mint Press report is incomplete, he nonetheless sees it as a credible piece of information when it is corroborated by other report. For Chossudovsky, the report not only supports the assumption that Syrian rebels, rather than Assad’s forces, waged Ghouta attacks, but also suggests that August 21st attacks were a “series of very carefully staged events.”
As for Ms Gavlak’s future prospects, Professor assumes that her career as a mainstream journalist might well be over. “I suspect she will be fired, if she hasn’t already been fired,” Chossudovsky claims. “Associated Press will not want to take her back as a mainstream reporter. They will do their outmost to camouflage this report and other reports which are being published concerning this east Ghouta chemical weapons attack.”

voiceofrussia.com – Islamist Syrian rebels abandon US-backed SNC, call for unity under sharia law

Thirteen major rebel groups in Syria signed a statement where they explicitly rejected the authority of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the key rebel umbrella group which closely cooperated with the US and Gulf allies, and declared their desire to establish a separate authority exclusively based on sharia law.

moonofalabama.org – Syria: The Mask Is Off

Who does the Obama administration suggest should now sit on the opposition side to negotiate with the Syrian government in Geneva? Neither the exile National Syrian Council nor the exile Supreme Military Command have any control over or traction with the groups fighting against the Syrian government. And how will the Obama administration justify further support for these groups?

Tony Cartalucci – VIDEO: Rockets Used in Damascus CW Attack Fired from Makeshift Flatbeds, Not Military Vehicles

While the video above is claimed to be a ”smoking gun,” it instead, under critical examination, illustrates the means with which the false-flag operation was carried out in late August – for the sole purpose of justifying direct Western military intervention to save a faltering proxy war.
That the same rocket used in Damascus has now been seen launched from makeshift flatbeds and not olive green military rocket launchers, along with answering the basic question of ”to whose benefit?” and considering that militants are confirmed to have US training in handling of chemical weapons – all at the very least tear down the narrative that ”only the Syrian regime” could have carried out the attacks.

rt.com – ‘Syria infiltrated by groups with CIA links’, No one knows for sure how the US aggression against Syria may play out, not even Washington, while Syria has been infiltrated by groups that have links to the CIA and are also backed by “certain Arab nations,” former Hezbollah MP Hassan Hoballah told RT.

Exceptional? You bet! ‘US wants to bully UN into overthrowing Assad’

theblaze.com – Al Qaeda-Linked Syria Group Enjoying USAID? You’ve Got to See This to Believe It

24 sep

Press TV – Five killed, more wounded in Damascus explosion: State TV

Five people have been killed and several others wounded after a car bomb explosion hit the eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus.

almanar.com.lb – Ban to UN Summit: Stop Fuelling Syria Bloodshed

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed Tuesday to all the world countries to stop sending weapons which fuel the bloodshed in Syria, as he opened the annual General Assembly summit.
”I appeal to all states to stop fuelling the bloodshed and to end the arms flows to Syria,” Ban told world leaders.

Press TV – Obama says US ready to use military force in Middle East

Richard Lightbown – The Syria Chemical Weapons Attack: Human Rights Watch is Manipulating the Facts