Syria toxic gas inquiry to end after Russia again blocks U.N. renewal 11/18/2017 9:09:57 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya votes against a bid to renew an international inquiry into chemical weapons attacks in Syria UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) NOV. 17, 2017 -- An international investigation into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria will end on Friday after Russia blocked for the third time in a month attempts at the  United Nations to renew the inquiry, which Moscow has slammed as flawed. In the past two years, the joint U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inquiry has found the Syrian government used the nerve agent sarin in an April 4 attack and has also several times used chlorine as a weapon. It blamed Islamic State militants for using mustard gas. Russia vetoed on Friday a Japanese-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution to exte...

US Senator Ben Cardin Statement on Russia Blocking UN Investigation into Use of Chemical Weapons by Syria's Assad 10/27/2017 9:40:26 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print Senator Cardin Statement on Russia vetoing UN resolution on chemical attack by Assad regime WASHINGTON, October 26, 2017   – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after Russia vetoed the renewal of a Syria chemical weapons oversight body in the UN Security Council earlier this week: “In 2015, the world came together to condemn the use of chemical weapons in Syria and set up an investigative body to hold accountable those responsible for such actions.   The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) - Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) - was unanimously created by the UN Security Council and its mandate was renewed in 2016 for other year.  Despite constan...