IRNA - Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ali Reza Jahangiri said on Thursday that West has pave the way for diversion in the entity by politicizing its duties.


He made the remarks in reaction to Britain’s proposal to OPCW which he said will politicize environment of cooperation among member states.

The UK presented a controversial proposal for expanding the powers of the OPCW at a meeting of the UN’s chemical watchdog, sparking opposition from Russia and Syria.

During the special meeting of the OPCW called by the UK in The Hague on Tuesday, Britain, supported by the US and its allies, pointed to the absence of any mechanism to identify the perpetrators of the chemical attacks that are investigated by the watchdog.

The UK’s draft resolution said that the OPCW should be mandated to “attribute responsibility for chemical weapons attacks.”

Executive consequences of the mechanism are such that they require amendments to Chemical Weapons Convention, but unfortunately the conference has posed threats to OPCW by approving the mechanism, he said.

During special conference of Chemical Weapons Convention’s member states, Western states attempted to include mechanism to identify the perpetrators of the chemical attacks among duties of the entity.

The US, France and Germany have also voiced support for the UK’s initiative.

However, Russia and Syria, which have vehemently rejected the use of chemical weapons by the Damascus government in recent months, opposed Britain’s proposal, saying there should be no change in the OPCW mandate.