Comment by the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Washington discussions, concerning the "scenarios" of a military operation in Syria

We closely follow Washington discussions concerning the US scenarios of possible illegal military intervention in Syria’s interior conflict.
We are particularly concerned about the fact that the military facilities ensuring the security of Syrian chemical arsenals among the US possible targets for military strikes.
In this view, we warn the US authorities and their allies against striking at chemical facilities and adjacent territories.
Such actions would mark a new dangerous turn in tragic development of the Syrian crisis.
This would generate a threat of release of highly toxic chemical agents with all the ensuing consequences for civilians and the environment.
Moreover, one should not rule out that such reckless operation can make the toxic and warfare agents available for paramilitaries and terrorists.
Therefore, chemical weapons spread not only around Syria but also beyond its borders.
In this respect we remind that the U.S. bombing of Iraq's chemical storage facility "Al Muthanna" in 1991 led to a serious contamination of adjacent territories. Only now - after more than 20 years - the work on decontamination is set to begin. For Syrian civilians and other countries of the region the consequences could be ever more severe.