MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/: Russia strictly adheres to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention and expects reciprocity from its counterparts, Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov commented on the US conditions for the cancellation of sanctions against Russia to the media on Thursday.
"Many years ago, Russia declared and verified elimination of all chemical weapons in its territory. It has strictly complied with the provisions of the corresponding convention," Peskov said, adding that "there are no chemical weapons in Russia’s territory."
"Incidentally, we expect some of our counterparts to comply with the provisions of that convention, too," he said.
The United States is one of the countries that still possess chemical weapons so Washington’s accusations against Moscow seem to be aimed at disguising attempts to contain Russia, Dmitry Peskov went on. "You know, there are countries that still possess chemical weapons, and the US is one of them," the Russian presidential spokesman emphasized. "That said, such statements completely lack logic. In fact, they are nothing but an unsuccessful attempt to disguise a policy aimed at containing Russia," Peskov noted.
The US Department of State said earlier that Russia had "used a chemical weapon against its own nationals, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention," which was the reason for new US sanctions. The US Department of State stated that restrictions on Russia "will remain in place for a minimum of 12 months" and could be removed if Moscow met several conditions, particularly "providing reliable assurances that it will not use chemical or biological weapons <…> against its own nationals," "that it is willing to allow on-site inspections by United Nations observers or other internationally recognized, impartial observers to verify that it is not making preparations to use chemical or biological weapons and that it is making restitution to those affected by any use of chemical or biological weapons."
