Russia ‘bears responsibility’ for gas attacks in Syria

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that Russia bears the ultimate responsibility for suspected chemical weapon attacks carried out by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking at a summit in Paris to push for sanctions and criminal charges against the perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, Tillerson also blasted Russia for “shielding” Syria from UN sanctions.

The comments came a day after an “apparent chlorine gas attack” in east Ghouta, an enclave of rebel support in the Damascus suburbs, which left at least 20 civilians – most of them children – struggling to breathe.

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“Russia’s failure to resolve the chemical weapons issue in Syria calls into question its relevance to the resolution to the overall crisis,” Tillerson said, before suggesting that Russia abstain from voting on further UN sanctions against Syria.

In a statement, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the latest attack was “yet another demonstration” of Syria’s “blatant disregard for international law and cruel indifference for the lives of its own people.”

The Guardian reports that between 2012 and 2017, there were more than 130 reported chemical attacks in Syria, “with the majority attributed to the Assad regime.”

The Washington Post says there have been “four such attacks since the start of the year, including two on Monday”, and that “dozens of civilians have been treated for symptoms of exposure to chlorine.”