Russian Embassy Urges US to Destroy Its Chemical Weapons

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Russian Embassy in the United States, in response to claims by State Department spokesperson Ned Price about the possibility of Moscow using chemical weapons in Ukraine, called on the US not to spread disinformation and urged Washington to intensify the process of destroying its chemical weapons.

"We call on Washington to stop spreading disinformation. Instead, colleagues should intensify the process of chemical demilitarisation of their country. The United States remains the only state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention that has not fulfilled the international commitments it made. The American arsenal of weapons of this type poses a real threat to humanity", a statement on Telegram read.

The embassy also slammed claims by State Department spokesperson Ned Price about the possibility of Moscow using chemical weapons in Ukraine.

"We took note of the provocative statements made by Press Secretary of the U.S. Department of State Ned #Price at a briefing on April 12 that our country could possibly use chemical weapons in the light of the alleged failures of the special military operation in #Ukraine. Ned Price once again distinguished himself by his idle talk, not substantiated by a single piece of evidence".

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of an armoured vehicle with the symbol "Z" painted on its side in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 24, 2022.

© REUTERS / Alexander Ermochenko

The embassy stressed that the Russian armed forces do not have chemical warfare agents, as all stockpiles have been destroyed.

"The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are successfully carrying out all their tasks on the Ukrainian territory. At the same time, they do not and cannot have any chemical warfare agents at their disposal because our country eliminated all chemical weapons stockpiles back in 2017", the embassy said.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February in response to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarise and de-Nazify" Ukraine.