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The U.N. Security Council is condemning the continued use of chemical weapons in Syria and reaffirming the need for "a mechanism" to hold all those responsible accountable.
The council also reiterated in a statement that the use of chemical weapons is a serious violation of international law and said that it supported the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' investigations of allegations of their use.
The statement was issued after a closed meeting Tuesday with the head of the OPCW.
The U.S. and Russia have been lashing out at each other for months over the issue of accountability for chemical attacks in Syria.
Russia vetoed a Western-backed resolution in November that would have extended the mandate of a joint U.N.-OPCW expert body charged with determining responsibility for chemical attacks, calling it biased and unprofessional.
Moscow and Washington have circulated rival resolutions to replace the expert body, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism — but there are no signs of bridging major differences in the drafts.
(ABC)
