India on Thursday strongly opposed the use of chemical weapons in Syria saying such a conduct is unacceptable and perpetrators of such abhorrent acts must be held accountable.

“We have seen reports about the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic. Any use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anybody, under any circumstances is in complete disregard of humanity, and is reprehensible and contrary to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as accepted international norms. The perpetrators of such abhorrent acts must be held accountable,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

According to media reports, several people including children, died during a cleansing up operation by the Syrian Government which used aircrafts to drop bombs filled with toxic chemicals on Douma on Saturday. The city was earlier held by rebels. However, Syrian government, that has military support from Russia, has denied any chemical attack.

On the recent diplomatic spat between United Kingdom and Russia over the chemical poisoning of a former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, UK, the MEA said India is awaiting the conclusion of investigations.

“India is against the use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anybody, under any circumstances. We hope that this issue is resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention so as to reach evidence based conclusions. India, as all other countries, awaits the outcome of the investigation,” Raveesh said.

On Thursday, international watchdog - Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a “high purity” nerve agent, Novichok. The findings provide a support to British Prime Minister Theresa May's claim of Russia being directly responsible for the attack. UK Secretary of State Boris Johnson claimed that only Russia has the “means, motive and record” to have carried out the attack.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Friday, 13 April 2018 | PNS | New Delhi