Russia Expresses Concern Over Israel's 'Hasty Conclusion' on 'Fake Chemical Attack' in Syria
Embassy statement claims there is 'no evidence of any chemical attack in Douma' after Israel accused Bashar Assad's government of 'crimes against humanity'
The Russian Embassy in Israel on Tuesday said the Israeli condemnation of what Moscow called a "fake chemical attack" in Syria was "a hasty conclusion."
Israel on Monday strongly condemned the chemical attack in eastern Ghouta and accused the Syrian government of "crimes against humanity."
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"The Embassy notes with concern a hasty conclusion made in Israel in regard to the fake chemical attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, on April 7, 2018," read the embassy statement released Tuesday. "The truth is that there is no evidence of any chemical attack in Douma at all."
Also Tuesday, Israeli officials said Russia had summoned Israel's ambassador to Moscow for a conversation on the attack of the Syrian air base that and which Russia said Israel was behind.
On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized what it described as Israel's "indiscriminate use of force against the civilian population" of Gaza in protests near the Gaza-Israel border fence.
The suspected chemical weapons attack late on Saturday killed at least 60 people, with more than 1,000 injured in several sites in Douma, a city near the capital, Damascus, according to a Syrian aid organization.Two days later, the White House was still only able to say that the attack fit the pattern of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapon use.
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"The Syrian regime continues to perpetrate crimes against humanity in using these outlawed weapons," said Israel's foreign ministry.
"The attack shows clearly that Syria continues to possess lethal weapons and even manufacture new ones. Syria is grossly violating its obligations and the decision of the international community," it added.
Both the Syrian government and its Russian backers deny responsibility for the attack.