"US claims on Damascus alleged violation of the 2013 Chemical Weapons Convention used as a pretext for the strike are unfounded. We already said that the Syrian troops had not used chemical weapons. We are awaiting from the United States explanations on what, according to them, is incontestable proof on the use of chemical weapons in Khan Sheyhun [in Idlib] by the Syrian army," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
He stressed that the Syrian government fully complied with commitments to eliminate chemical weapons in 2013-2016.
The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha'irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in the city of Khan Sheyhun in the Idlib province on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.
On Tuesday, the Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces reported that some 80 people were killed and 200 injured in a chemical weapon attack in Idlib, blaming the Syrian army for the incident. The Syrian Armed Forces refuted the allegations.
