The Kremlin today rejected "nonsense accusations" that the government in Damascus used chemical weapons, and gave assurances that the entire Syrian arsenal of such weapons had been destroyed under international supervision.
"Provocations continue with all insinuations and meaningless accusations against the Syrian authorities," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Syrian government, which has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons, has been accused in recent weeks of alleged chlorine attacks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced yesterday that almost 20 cases of suffocation were recorded in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta after the bombing.
"Chemical weapons in Syria have been destroyed. This has been verified not only by the Russian side, but also by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," Peskov said.
According to him, for Moscow, "only the conclusions of the international commission, impartial investigations can be a reason for any accusations".
"In the absence of such an investigation, all accusations are just insinuations," Peskov said.
The accusations, which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called "unreal", led to protests on the international stage, with the US and France even threatening to strike Syria.
The Syrian army has been conducting an offensive in Eastern Ghouta since February 18. Since February 25, when the ground attack began, 40 percent of the enclave, besieged since 2013, has been liberated.
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