INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia had argued that increasing the body's power was beyond its legal mandate
(File)Moscow: Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Thursday said Moscow does not recognise new powers the international
community has given the global chemical weapons watchdog."Moscow does not recognise the legitimacy of the new mechanism within the OPCW (the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)," Ryabkov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies."The prospects and the
future of the (body's) convention itself have become very vague We will draw serious conclusions from what is happening," he said.On
Wednesday a British-led proposal to strengthen the mandate of the OPCW, with the aim of identifying those behind toxic arms attacks in
Syria, passed in The Hague by 82 votes in favour with 24 against.British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hailed the watchdog's "crucial
extra power, not just to identify the use of chemical weapons, but also to point the finger at the organisation, the state that they think
is responsible".But Moscow, which along with Syria and Iran had vehemently opposed the move, shot back that the move was a sign the watchdog
was on the brink of collapse.The Russian ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin said the OPCW was "sinking like the Titanic",
adding it was possible that Moscow could withdraw from the body.Russia, with its allies, had argued that giving the OPCW the power to say
who was behind a chemical weapons attack was going beyond its legal mandate, maintaining only bodies such as the UN Security Council had
such authority.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated
