10 March 201716:21
461-10-03-2017
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Congolese Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso
On March 13-15, the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Congolese Nationals Abroad Jean-Claude Gakosso will be in Moscow on a working visit.
On March 14, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with his Congolese counterpart to discuss the further development of Russian-Congolese political, trade, economic and cultural cooperation. The ministers will focus on several areas of mutual interest, such as the implementation of a pilot project to build a Pointe-Noire – Yie – Oyo – Ouesso oil product pipeline in Congo.
The officials will discuss international issues of mutual interest, such as creating a broad front against terrorism and defusing crises in Africa.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with National Security Adviser of the President of Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Atmar
On March 17, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with National Security Adviser of the President of Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Atmar, who will be in Moscow on a working visit.
The officials will discuss the security situation and prospects for promoting national reconciliation in Afghanistan, as well as ways to develop multilateral cooperation within the Moscow format of regional consultations on Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meeting with representatives of Russian NGOs
On March 17, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with the leaders of over a hundred Russian NGOs that are implementing human rights, humanitarian, research and education, cultural and youth projects with foreign partners.
This annual event was first held in 2004 and has since become an effective platform for exchanging opinions and outlining prospective areas for cooperation between the Foreign Ministry and civil society.
We hope that the upcoming meeting will be held in a constructive spirit and will help coordinate our views on key international issues with those of the NGOs.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s participation in Russian-Japanese consultations in the Two Plus Two format in Tokyo
On March 20, the second round of Russian-Japanese consultations in the Two Plus Two format will be held between foreign and defence ministers in Tokyo. The work of this dialogue mechanism resumed following an official visit by President of Russia Vladimir Putin to Japan in December 2016. The first round of these consultations was held in Tokyo in November 2013.
The situation in Syria
Russia continues efforts to reach a political settlement of the conflict in Syria as soon as possible and to create additional opportunities for waging an unrelenting fight against international terrorists operating in that country and their local accomplices.
The International Meeting on Syria in Astana is scheduled for March 14-15 and will be attended by representatives of the Syrian Government and the armed opposition groups that have supported the cessation of hostilities. On the whole, we are satisfied with the progress of the Astana Process, where the driving force is the three guarantors of the cessation of hostilities – Russia, Turkey and Iran. Agreements reached in this format have made it possible to meaningfully reduce the level of violence in Syria and improve the humanitarian situation. It became possible to substantially expand and consolidate the ceasefire and involve a number of armed groups based in southern Syria in the political process. We proceed from the assumption that the new meeting in Astana will be of much help for holding the fifth round of the UN-sponsored intra-Syrian talks in Geneva, which are to begin on March 23.
We hope that preparations for the new contacts in Geneva will facilitate yet another step towards forming a broad-based and strong delegation of the Syrian opposition, which would take into account the vision and points of view of all ethnic and religious segments of Syrian society and whose willingness to negotiate is not in question. Meanwhile, the military and political situation in Syria remains tense. The government forces are building on their successes in the fight against ISIS and Nusra. As a result of their operations, a vast swathe of eastern Aleppo Province has been liberated. In the face of fierce resistance from ISIS, the Syrian army has reached the Asad reservoir on the Euphrates River, taking control of two pump stations in Al Hafsa, which supply drinking water to Aleppo and its environs. I would like to remind you that Aleppo was cut off from its main fresh water source for almost two months.
The Russian Centre for reconciliation of opposing sides in Syria was active in brokering a truce in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. The truce came into effect on March 6. At the same time, terrorists remaining in the enclave and groups of so-called “irreconcilables” that have actually merged with them do not support this agreement. They made a public appeal to renounce any reconciliation with the Syrian Government and resume attacks on the government forces’ positions.
Statement from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on allegations of chemical weapons use in Mosul
The Russian Federation fully shares the concern expressed by the OPCW and the UN regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons in Mosul, Iraq.
We have been following this situation since March 2013 when one of the first incidents involving the use of sarin gas against Syrian government troops and civilians was reported in Khan al-Assal. In this context, it is interesting what western experts are saying. They stated that after ISIS fighters occupied Mosul in the summer of 2014, they obtained access to a research library and laboratories of a local university, which greatly enhanced their capability to produce chemical weapons. ISIS counted among its members former Iraqi officers who were involved in Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons programme, as well as certified chemistry experts from abroad. As for ISIS chemical weapons production facilities in Iraq, Iraqis themselves and representatives of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition reported the discovery of these facilities.
In this connection, we suggest that journalists forward their enquiries to the Iraqi authorities and the coalition command, who had publicly announced the killing of ISIS chemical weapons experts, former Iraqi officers Suleiman Daud al-Bakkar and Abu Malik. Last year, the coalition announced the capture of an ISIS chemical weapons production facility in the city of Hit in Iraq and the bombing of another “chemical facility” of that sort.
The recurring cases of chemical terrorism in the Middle East, including in Syria and Iraq, are a matter of grave concern. Not only do fighters from ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other affiliated extremist groups have industrial and domestic toxic substances in their possession, such as chlorine, but also toxic weapons-grade agents, including mustard gas and sarin. There is no doubt whatsoever that the use of chemical weapons runs counter to the existing international rules and norms. All this confirms what we have been saying all along, that terrorists have the capability to produce and use chemical weapons.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that national security threats have become a hotly debated issue in major European countries, the United States and across the world in general. There is nothing wrong with any country having a conversation on this topic. Unfortunately, the threat of terrorists using and producing chemical weapons, which is a global, not regional, issue, is not at the centre of these discussions. Non-state actors in Syria and Iraq were able to expand their cross-border terrorist activity, making it more systematic. Unfortunately, our worst fears are about to materialise. We have warned about it on multiple occasions. There is a threat of chemical terrorism spreading across the Middle East. Even though this may sound ironic (although this would be a very sad irony), we could use a hashtag #FMknew (i.e. “the Foreign Ministry knew”). Moreover, chemical terrorism could spill over into neighbouring regions.
This is a serious threat and it is real. We have to work on it. We hope that the Iraqi authorities will be proactive in dealing with it. Of course, Russia fully supports OPCW’s commitment to provide comprehensive assistance to Baghdad in investigating this incident.
In addition, we believe that the mandate of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism on chemical weapons use in Syria, renewed for one year under UN Security Council Resolution 2319, should be extended beyond Syria to territories exposed to the threat of chemical terrorism.
We strongly believe that those responsible for all crimes involving the use of chemical weapons should be identified and held accountable.
In broader terms, the fact that non-state actors are using chemical weapons for military and terrorist purposes with increased frequency shows that Russia came forward with a timely and urgent initiative when it proposed one year ago to draft an international convention on fighting chemical and biological terrorism as part of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. We hope that countries taking part in this Conference on Disarmament in Geneva will back this initiative.
To be continued...