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French Minister Admits Paris Has No Hard Proof of Chlorine Use by Damascus

© AP Photo / United media office of ArbeenMember of UN investigation team taking samples of sands near a part of a missile that is likely to be one of the chemical rockets according to activists, in Damascus countryside of Ain Terma, Syria
Member of UN investigation team taking samples of sands near a part of a missile that is likely to be one of the chemical rockets according to activists, in Damascus countryside of Ain Terma, Syria - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) – France potentially has evidence that the forces backing the Syrian government allegedly used chlorine gas against civilians, but no definitive proof, French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly told France Inter broadcaster on Friday.

"We have potential evidence of the use of chlorine [by pro-Damascus forces], but we have no definite proof," Parly told the broadcaster.

The minister also stressed that the massive airstrikes in Syria were very worrying and had to stop, and that the humanitarian corridors had to remain accessible.

Parly emphasized the importance of maintaining a dialogue between all sides and stressed that France had only one goal in Syria — to fight against the Daesh terrorist group.

On Wednesday, the US-led coalition against Daesh said in a statement that it had carried out defensive airstrikes against the pro-government forces in Syria that attacked the headquarters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) east of the Euphrates River.

READ MORE: UN Commission Investigating Reports of Alleged Chlorine Use in Idlib, Ghouta

On Tuesday, the UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic said that it was investigating reports of the alleged use of chlorine in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and eastern Ghouta. Shortly beforehand, US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that Washington was concerned with reports claiming that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons near Idlib’s city of Saraqib. Nauert added that the United States believed Russia was shielding the Syrian government from being held accountable for the purported use of chemical weapons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called the US claims "insinuations," while the country's Defense Ministry refuted the US statement, claiming that it was based on rumors. The Syrian Foreign Ministry has called the US accusations groundless and condemned the statement.

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