Russia condemns UN report on sarin gas attack in Syria as inconsistent
New York — On Thursday, UN investigators blamed a sarin gas massacre on Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as the US renewed its warning that he has no role in Syria’s future. However, on Friday Russia criticised the report, with a deputy foreign minister saying it contained inconsistencies and unverified evidence. "Even the first cursory read shows … many inconsistencies, logical discrepancies, using doubtful witness accounts and unverified evidence... all of this is still [in the report]," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax news agency. The expert UN panel’s report and tough remarks by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson overshadowed the announcement that UN-sponsored peace talks would resume in November. Eighty-seven people died on April 4 when sarin gas projectiles were fired into Khan Sheikhun, a rebel-held town in the Idlib province of northwestern Syria. Images of dead and dying victims, including young children, in the aftermath of the attack provoked global outrage...
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