Russia Warned US About 'Groundless and Illegal Aggression Against Syria' - Envoy

Russia’s envoy to the US says he has told Washington that Moscow is concerned about the US preparing new strikes on Syria.

"The main thing is that we expressed our concerns about American signals of preparing new strikes on Syria on the pretext of a possible use of "chemical weapons" by Syrians. We stressed that such a prospect is of grave concern for us. We called Washington to provide undelayed facts on the reasons why the topic with the use of chemical weapons by Damascus is being further fueled,"  Anatoly Antonov stated.

#Antonov: We warned the #US🇺🇸 not to engage in another baseless and unlawful aggression against #Syria🇸🇾. The new aggravation in Syria would not be in anyone’s national interest and only terrorist would benefit from it

➡️ https://t.co/E5X9f10XTW 👈@statedeptspox @StateDept pic.twitter.com/HW55NJhcKl

— Russia in USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) 30 августа 2018 г.

Earlier on August 30, the Russian envoy to the US stressed that the rhetoric around the subject of the potential use of chemical weapons by Damascus could be used as a signal for terrorists and "pseudo-humanitarian organizations" such as the White Helmets to stage another provocation.

READ MORE: Russian Envoy to US: Militants to Create Provocation Idlib Aided by UK Forces

The Russian Defense Ministry's warning about potential chemical attacks being planned in Syria are based on concrete facts, Russia's Envoy to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on August 28. The ministry has warned that the US could use this as a pretext for a new attack on Syrian state facilities.

On August 21, the UK, the US and France stated that they "will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime."

The statement also called on supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad to "use their influence to uphold the global norm against chemical weapons use."

Later on August 22, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that the US would respond "very strongly" if the Syrian government used chemical weapons.

Damascus Physically Unable to Use Chemical Weapons

Damascus is physically incapable of using chemical weapons, because its chemical arsenal has been completely destroyed, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We would like to stress once again that it is absolutely unacceptable for Russia to use toxic substances in combat, as well as chemical staging to make false accusations against the Syrian government and the military in the alleged chemical attacks. Damascus is not even physically able to do this anymore," Zakharova told a briefing.

READ MORE: Syria Never Used And Will Not Use Chemical Weapons — Ambassador to Russia

"Syria's chemical arsenals were completely destroyed under international control during a unique operation involving, the United States, among others," she added.

The Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation said earlier this week that representatives of the White Helmets had delivered a large shipment of toxic substances to a warehouse used by militants in Idlib province in order to stage a false-flag chemical attack and subsequently accuse the government's forces of using the toxic agents against civilians.