Russian Obstructionism

Moscow denies chemical weapons inspectors access to Douma.

Since the chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma on April 7, Moscow has denied the involvement of the Syrian regime in the course of events that caused the deaths of tens of people, among them numerous women and children. In fact, Russian media outlets have gone even further in systematically repeating the theory that the whole thing was staged by forces opposing Bashar Assad’s dictatorship. They have claimed, for example, that children who appeared to be suffering from convulsions were, in fact, shivering from exposure to the cold while naked.

Following this argument, it is surprising that both Russia and Syria have now denied inspectors sent by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons access to Douma. They quote “security matters that still have to be resolved.” The inspectors arrived in Damascus on Saturday and since then have been ready to get to work immediately.

The EU demanded inspectors be on the ground to clarify the facts in due course before taking a stance on any possible sanctions or military action. Following the bombing of objectives in Syria, carried out last Saturday morning by the U.S., U.K. and France, the foreign ministries of the 28 EU countries have opted, in the interests of consensus, to “understand” the situation before giving its whole backing to the allied military operation.

The EU is right to note that military action, in order to be effective, must be accompanied by diplomatic initiatives. Russia, which supports Assad, has promised to dismantle Syrian chemical weapons on multiple occasions, but the country’s dictator has ignored this. Europe must pressure Russia, including with sanctions, to make Syria grant inspectors access to Douma and to get the regime to definitively dismantle its chemical weapons arsenal, recently used by troops from Damascus.*

*Editor’s note: Since this article was written, inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were allowed into Douma.