Riyad Haddad: Damascus never used chemical weapons

After a series of unjustified allegations that Syria reportedly kept chemical weapons, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad said that the state eliminated all of its chemical arsenal in 2013.

"Firstly, Syria got rid of the chemical arsenal in 2013. We never used and will not use chemical weapons," Haddad said, commenting on the claims by opposition groups, including White Helmets, about chemical attacks carried out by the Syrian government forces against civilians.

The ambassador called falsehood and misleading allegations of the US and its allies.

"These statements will not pass, they have one pretext for everything — the use of chemical weapons, and as soon as our army, thanks to the support of friendly countries, advances to liberate our lands, the West and the United States immediately want to intervene in order to attack Syria, in order to weaken Syria and prolong the war," Sputnik cited Haddad as saying.

Earlier, Russian military said that militants are preparing to use chemical weapons in Syria, and the US can use this as a reason for a new attack on Syrian state facilities.