FACT CHECK: Damascus Has Not Fully Complied With UN-backed Chemical Weapons Probe.

On October 4, Bassam Sabbagh, the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, claimed during a U.N. Security Council briefing on Syria’s chemical weapons that his country had met all its obligations under the chemical weapons ban.

Sabbagh commented after U.N. Undersecretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, complained of “unaddressed discrepancies and insufficient cooperation” by the Syrian government. She said Syria’s declaration of compliance was inaccurate.

An Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission has been investigating allegations that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons during the country’s civil war. Sabbagh claimed the mission used flawed investigative methods.

“Syria is cooperating with OPCW and is keen to close the file as soon as possible,” he said.

But that is false. Since the investigations began eight years ago, Syrian President Bashar Assad has blocked investigators and provided inaccurate information.

LINK: www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-damascus-has-not-fully-cooperated-with-un-backed-chemical-weapons-probe/31505761.html