UN creates body to probe Syria chemical attacks

His comments came after Russian Federation on Friday backed the setting up of a UN Security Council panel to identify who is behind the chlorine attacks, which the West blames on the Damascus regime.

Ms Powers, hinting at the culpability of the Assad government in the attacks, said that “even when there were obvious signs pointing to the parties responsible, investigators were not empowered to point the finger”, compounding an “already-rampant sense of impunity in Syria”.

“He is pleased that the Security Council has decided to act and take the necessary action not just to halt the continued use of toxic chemicals as weapons by any party to the conflict, but also to send a strong collective message that any such use will not be tolerated”, said the statement.

“We still think this objective is achievable”, he said.

Power called for the unity that the council showed Friday “to urgently find a political solution to the Syrian crisis”.

The resolution stipulates, in particular, that within 20 days after its adoption, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will present its recommendations to the UN Security Council regarding the establishment of a joint UN-OPCW mission to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. None of the 13 other council members raised objections. In early June, Syrian activists and doctors said chlorine had been increasingly used as a weapon.

The council approved a U.S.-drafted resolution in March which threatens sanctions, among other measures, against Syria for the use of chemical weapons. And in mid-July reports emerged that the Islamic State group, which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq, used projectile-delivered poison gas against Kurdish forces in both countries on several occasions in June.

The US Vessel Cape Ray, on which all 581 metric tonnes of a precursor chemical for sarin gas were removed from Syria and safely destroyed as the ship sailed in global waters in 2014.

He noted that over two years ago, Syria provided a video shot in Turkey showing terrorists experimenting with chemical weapons on rabbits and threatening to use it in Syria, something which the terrorist actually did.