Syria is confident the United Nations will not adopt a resolution on its chemical weapons under Chapter VII, which could allow the use of force, its deputy foreign minister said Wednesday.
The comments come as envoys from the five permanent UN Security Council members struggle to draft a resolution on destroying Syria’s chemical weapons.
France, Britain and the United States want compulsory measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter if Syria does not uphold the disarmament plan.
But Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is firmly opposed to anything that could pave the way for the use of force.
Syria agreed to turn over its weapons under an international deal thrashed out after the United States threatened military action against Damascus.
The threat followed an August 21 chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus that reportedly killed hundreds of people.
The Syrian opposition and much of the international community blamed the attack on the regime, which in turn said that rebels were responsible.
The attack has been confirmed by UN weapons inspectors, who said in a report presented this week that the poison sarin was used, without attributing responsibility for the attack.
Muqdad said the report contained “nothing new” and that the regime had consistently said opposition forces were using sarin.
He said Syria had decided to give up its chemical weapons to ward off allegations from the West that it was using the arms against its people.
Muqdad had harsh words for nations that have backed the uprising against the regime, including France, which he said had “betrayed not only Syria, but… their own people and their own principles.”
The rebels fighting against Assad’s regime include Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The regime refers to all those fighting against it as “terrorists.”
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