Russia says rebels responsible for chemical attack in Damascus

Russia has received “additional evidences” from Syria showing that rebels used chemical weapons in the Syrian capital of Damascus, visiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday.

“We felt disappointed because the (U.N. chemical weapon) inspectors didn’t give much attention to the Syrian evidences,” Sergei Ryabkov told a press conference at the Russian embassy in Damascus.

“The Syrian evidences are extremely important and clear… and the Russian experts will study it thoroughly,” he said.

The U.N. inspectors have released a report indicating that chemical weapons were used at al-Ghouta suburb in Damascus “on a relatively large scale resulting in numerous casualties, particularly among civilians and including many children.”

The report did not point out who used the chemical weapons but Western countries accused the Syrian government of launching the attack.

“We are very much interested in what is going on in Syria,” Ryabkov said.

Meanwhile, he stressed that the Syrian-Russian relations are “ firm and strong and can’t be affected by any wind or storms.”

A Russian delegation arrived in Syria on Tuesday to discuss with Syrian officials the recent Russian-U.S. deal that aimed at settling chemical attack crisis in the Arab country.

Russia has proposed an initiative to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international supervision to avoid a possible U.S. military strike over allegations that the Syrian army used chemical weapons against civilians in the countryside of Damascus on Aug. 21.

The last-minute proposal by Russia was hailed by Damascus which said it would surrender its chemical storage.