Moscow rejects Syria chemical use

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Moscow had proof against the allegations by France and the United States that Syrian forces may have used industrial chemicals on a militant-held village in Hama province this month.

“Accusations against government forces continue to be fabricated about alleged cases of them using chemical substances,” said the statement, adding, “The Russian side has authentic information that such statements are false.”

“This, yet another anti-Syrian ‘chemical’ hysteria, highlights the question of the real goals of its initiators, who are not abandoning attempts to find a reason for intervention in Syria,” Moscow noted.

The allegations are made as 92.5 percent of the country’s chemicals have been removed, according to a Thursday statement by the joined Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN task team.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Over 150,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by Western-backed militants.

According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.