MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - The Russian Defense Ministry has called the conclusion drawn by Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director General Ahmet Uzumcu that sarin was used in Syria's Khan Sheikhun a hasty one.
"The statement by Ahmet Uzumcu, a representative of this organization, on the alleged use of sarin in Khan Sheikhun raises big questions," Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, an official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, said on Thursday.
"This hasty statement by Uzumcu really let the entire OPCW down," he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry would like to get "clear answers" from OPCW, the general said.
"Everything was immediately clear to Mr Uzumcu on Khan Sheikhun. Although not a single OPCW official was there in two weeks. Where were the test samples taken, by whom and how? Who precisely in OPCW studied the biological test samples so quickly if the standard OPCW procedures, like in the situation with yprite in Aleppo, envisage a lengthy series of tests?" Konashenkov said.
"Or did Mr Uzumcu discover his own Mendeleyev table, despite the conclusions drawn by independent experts, who consider such selective sarin damage to be nonsense?" Konashenkov said.
"Only an objective investigation into the incident on the ground, in Khan Sheikhun, can help determine the truth about what really happened there and who should bear responsibility for it," Konashenkov said.
Konashenkov said he has questions about why representatives of the White Helmets organization were not wearing protective masks if sarin was indeed used in Khan Sheikhun.
"Everyone saw it. We would like to get clear answers to all these questions from Ahmet Uzumcu as soon as possible," he said.
OPCW was created as an objective and impartial international organization to supervise the observance of the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons, Konashenkov said.
"OPCW bears huge responsibility. Because all statements, let alone conclusions drawn by this organization should not be politically motivated hypotheses, but statements of facts proved using scientific methods and formulas," the general said.
"Moreover, all conclusions should be accessible for re-verification by all experts," Konashenkov said.
Russian specialists registered the use of yprite by militants in Aleppo in late 2016, he said.
"Russian specialists at the crime scene took samples of the toxic substances, which were provided to OPCW representatives and sent to The Hague. By the way, the Syrian administration then insisted on the arrival of OPCW experts in Aleppo on security guarantees, but no one went," Konashenkov said.
"Four months later, OPCW still cannot make a decision and recognize the yprite found in Aleppo as 'yprite', citing the need for more tests," Konashenkov said.
On April 7, the United States delivered a missile strike on the Syrian government army's Shayrat airbase. The U.S. believes that the air base was used in the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhun, in which many people were killed.
The Syrian authorities are ready to grant independent experts access to the Shayrat airbase struck by U.S. cruise missiles and the Russian military will ensure safety, the Russian General Staff said last week.
The Russian military said the Syrian army has no chemical weapons.
The results of the tests performed show that sarin or its analogue was used in Syria's Idlib, the European media earlier reported, citing OPCW Director General Ahmet Uzumcu.