Endowment of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with attributive functions is directed against Russia, Permanent Representative to OPCW, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin.

“This will be directed against Russia. Western countries do not know themselves yet how this mechinsm will work,“ Shulgin said. “They want to do it in a format that will be maximally detrimental and painful for Russia,” he added.

“It is not even clear to whom the OPCW Technical Secretariat will report its findings. Some say to the International Criminal Court, others say to the so-called impartial mechanism of investigating serious crimes in Syria which was established by the UN General Assembly,” Shulgin said. “It’s important for them to launch the process now, and the specifics will be developed later,” he continued.

The West’s main goal is to get a budget for this from the OPCW, the diplomat said. “They don’t care whether it will be 5 million, 2 million or 1 million. They want to launch the process. It’s clear that this will not be limited to Syria, the main effort will be directed against Russia,” Shulgin underlined. This will turn the organization into a “quasi-prosecution body,” the diplomat continued. “Will legal experts work there? This has nothing to do with the purpose of the Chemical Weapons Convention,” he concluded.