Alwaght- Russia’s defense minister says three attempts at staging chemical attacks in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, have been thwarted over the past week.
"A unique and unprecedented in its scale humanitarian operation overseen by the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties is underway in Eastern Ghouta. In all, 79,655 people have been evacuated from there over the past five days via the humanitarian corridors. More than 65% of Eastern Ghouta’s territory has been liberated," Russian Defense Minister, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, said during a conference call on Tuesday.
According to Tass news agency, Shoigu added that, "Russian officers’ primary efforts are aimed at ensuring the safety of civilians’ exit from the blocked areas and organizing the delivery of humanitarian aid from Russia to evacuated Syrians."
"We continue to keep a close eye on the actions by the US and the coalition member-countries and note the activity of their armed forces around Syria," Shoigu said.
"The possibility of the use of chemical agents by militants persists with a view to accusing Syrian troops of using chemical weapons in the future," he noted. "Three such attempts have been foiled over the past week."
"We expect that under the current circumstances our Western partners will be guided by common sense when making decisions, stop toying with terrorists and join Russia’s peace initiatives in Syria," the minister said.
"We will continue doing our utmost to normalize the situation in this region," he noted.
"We are calling on the parties concerned to keep up a constructive dialogue and take joint steps aimed at stopping violence," Shoigu said.
Russia and Syria have set up humanitarian corridors leading out of Eastern Ghouta to contribute to the implementation of a UN Security Council that has mandated a ceasefire in the Arab country since February 24.
