Syrian envoy to UN condemns US-led strikes on Syria

UNITED NATIONS - The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations on Saturday condemned the US-led strikes on Syria and told an emergency UN Security Council meeting that "the Cold War is back."

Bashar Ja'afari expressed his country's "disgust" with the joint strikes of the United States, Britain and France against the Syrian Arab Republic.

Ja'afari noted that even if the United States knew which sites in Syria were allegedly producing chemical weapons, it should insist that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspect these alleged facilities, instead of bombing them.

"If they knew the location of supposed chemical weapons centers, why didn't they share it with the OPCW before attacking my country?" the Syrian ambassador said.

Regarding the bombed research facility at Barzeh, Ja'afari said that the building was inspected by the OPCW twice in 2017 and the organization found no evidence of any chemical weapons nor the tools with which they could be made.

"The Syrian Arab Republic firmly condemns this tripartite attack which once again shows indisputably that they (the allies) pay no attention to international law even though they say they do repeatedly," he told the UN Security Council during the Saturday session.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia made the same point during his address to the Security Council, saying "the United States and its allies continue to demonstrate blatant disregard for international law."

The meeting failed to pass a Russian-draft resolution condemning the attack and demanding an end to such military action.

For adoption, a resolution requires at least nine votes in favor on the condition that none of the permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States -- votes against. The Russian draft resolution failed because it only garnered the votes of Bolivia, China and Russia.

The Syrian ambassador began his remarks by referencing to American books published at the end of the Cold War -- "The End of History" and "The Clash of Civilizations," which were described by Ja'afari as two works that have provided a blueprint for global submission to the United States.

The post-Cold War philosophy was summed up by the Syrian ambassador with the American phrase, "my way or the highway."

"When lies keep being repeated, the person who lies underscores the fact that the person lying is a liar," Ja'afari said.