Putin: Chemical Attack In Syria ‘Sly And Ingenious’ Provocation By Rebels
By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, September 19, 4:30 PM
VALDAI, Russia — Russia has strong grounds to believe that Syrian rebels were responsible for the country’s chemical attack, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday — a claim almost universally disputed by Western governments.
Speaking at a conference, Putin said “we have every reason to believe that it was a provocation, a sly and ingenious one.” He added, however, that its perpetrators have relied on “primitive” technology, using old Soviet-made ammunition no longer in the Syrian army’s inventory.
--CLIP
Putin expressed optimism when asked whether he trusts Syrian President Bashar Assad to fulfill Russia’s plan for Syria to surrender its chemical weapons and avoid a U.S. strike. He said Damascus’ actions so far have given reason to believe the initiative will be implemented.
“I can’t be 100 percent sure that we will bring it to the end, but what we have seen in the past few days has given us confidence that it will be accomplished,” Putin said.
Responding to a question about what would happen if Assad’s government breaks its pledge, Putin said “we have no reason to believe they would fail to fulfill their obligations.” ‘’We will look into that if they would, but it’s premature to talk about it,” he added.
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