UNITED NATIONS: The new US envoy to the United Nations on Thursday accused Russia of seeking to stymie efforts to hold the government of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad accountable for its use of chemical weapons during its long civil war.

“We all know the Assad regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons. So why hasn’t the Syrian government been held accountable?” the ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told a Security Council meeting via videoconference.

“The answer is sadly simple: the Assad regime has tried to avoid accountability by obstructing independent investigations and undermining the role and work” of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), she said.

“And the regime’s allies, in particular Russia, have also sought to block all efforts to pursue accountability,” added the US diplomat, who was participating in her first Security Council meeting since taking over as President Joe Biden’s envoy.

“Russia has defended the Assad regime despite its chemical weapons attacks, it has attacked the professional work of the OPCW, and it has undermined efforts to hold the Assad regime accountable for its use of chemical weapons and numerous other atrocities.” Moscow’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, defended Damascus, saying: “On Russia’s advice, Syria has abided by the OPCW in good faith, and has gotten rid of its chemical weapons arsenal” — a claim greeted with skepticism in the West.—AFP