Ankara to support efforts for accountability over Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons

ANKARA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it will support the efforts by the United Nations for ensuring accountability over the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

The ministry issued a written statement over the weekend following the release of the third Report by the Investigation and Identification Team of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on Chemical Weapons Attacks in Syria.

“The Investigation and Identification Team of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), established with a mandate to identify those responsible for the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, concluded in its third report that the regime is the perpetrator of the chlorine gas attack that took place in Douma on April 7, 2018. The responsibility of the regime for another chemical weapons attack has been confirmed,” read the ministry statement.

“Türkiye will continue to support the efforts, first and foremost by the U.N. and OPCW, aiming at ensuring accountability in Syria,” it added.

The ongoing civil war since 2011 claimed the lives of more than 1 million Syrian civilians at the hands of the Assad regime. The OPCW has confirmed that the regime had used chemical weapons against its citizens as well.