Russia Refutes US Accusation of 'Killing' UN's Joint Investigative Mechanism

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States will allocate $350,000 for the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to assist in the investigation of crimes committed in Syria, the US mission to the United Nation said in a statement on Wednesday.

"US will fund $350k for the International, Impartial & Independent Mechanism on crimes committed in Syria. IIIM will help accountability efforts for Assad regime atrocities, [including chemical] weapons use – more important than ever since Russia killed the Joint Investigative Mechanism," the statement posted on Twitter said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s mission to the United Nations on Wednesday lashed back at the United States for claiming it "killed" UN’s Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) that probed the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

"US [mission to] UN deliberately omits that they came last to kill our UNSC resolution to extend and reincarnate JIM to make it independent, objective and professional," the Russian mission reacted on Twitter.

Russia vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution in November 2017 to extend JIM’s mandate, calling to address fundamental flaws in the mechanism’s work. Instead, Russia tabled a project to establish a new and impartial body that was rejected in January by the United States.