Kerry: ‘US tests show sarin used in Syria chemical attack’
Samples collected by first responders after the Aug. 21 chemical attack in a Damascus suburb have tested positive for the Sarin nerve agent, US Secretary of State John Kerry told US media as he sought build support for a military strike.
Kerry made his comments as part of a series of nine TV
appearances to persuade the US public opinion of the need for
military retaliation on Syria, following Saturday’s announcement
by Barack Obama that he will seek approval for the use of force
in Congress.
“In the last 24 hours, we have learned through samples that
were provided to the US that have now been tested from first
responders in east Damascus and hair samples and blood samples
have tested positive for signatures of sarin," Kerry said on
NBC's Meet The Press.
In a later appearance on CNN, Kerry said that the evidence, which
was gathered independently of the UN, strengthened Obama's call
for military action against the regime of President Bashar Assad,
which the US accuses of being responsible for the chemical
weapons attack.
"Each day that goes by, this case is even stronger," Kerry
said, calling the case “overwhelming.”
Sarin is a man-made chemical warfare agent, considered the most
toxic and fast-acting of its kind. The odorless, colorless nerve
agent interferes with an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase that
controls nerve signals to the muscles.
The US lawmakers are to return from recess on September 9. Kerry
said he believed there are “good people in the Congress”
who would support intervention.
In his interviews, Kerry avoided answering the question whether
Obama would still act if the Congress voted against strikes on
the Syrian targets.
Meanwhile, in an interview with ABC, Kerry expressed the hope that Russia would realize that Assad crossed the line by using chemical weapons against civilians, and join the US in their effort to hold the Syrian regime accountable.
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma, Aleksey Pushkov, believes that Kerry’s claims of discovered sarin traces doesn’t in any way prove that the chemical weapons were used by the Syrian government.
“The traces of sarin near Damascus prove nothing. It could’ve been used by the militants. Like one British MP said: ‘You don’t have to be Einstein’ to do that,” Pushkov wrote on his Twitter page.
Russia has been calling for a full investigation into the
allegations surrounding the Aug. 21 attack which reportedly
killed hundreds of people. On Saturday, Russian President
Vladimir Putin urged Washington to present its evidence to the UN
Security Council before beginning the attack, saying doing
otherwise would be “a violation of international law.”
Putin labeled as “utter nonsense” the idea that the Syrian
government would use chemical weapons on its own people when UN
inspectors were in Damascus, calling the whole affair a
“provocation” by Syrian rebels hoping to embroil Western powers
in the conflict.
Meanwhile, the samples that UN investigators gathered at the site
of the attack near Damascus are yet to be sent to European
laboratories, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
According to Nesirky, “two Syrian officials” will be
monitoring the testing to ensure transparency.
Earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it may be two weeks before the final results of the analysis are ready.
