Warnings of Chemical Attacks in Syria - United Kingdom and Russia (Media Stakeout Excerpts)

The Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia today said his country is “deeply concerned” and “strongly warned against” a possible chemical attack staged by the rebel group in Syria's Idlib province.
Speaking to reporters today (28 Aug) in New York after a closed consultation on Syria, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said “we are deeply concerned of the warnings by our western partners on the possible use, by the Syrian Regime, as they call it, of chemical weapons.”
Nebenzia continued “we consider it as an invitation to the armed rebel groups to stage another chemical attack as they did in Eastern Ghouta and Douma early in April or early in Khan Shaykhun, as a pretext of military strikes against Syria. We see these preparations, we see the military buildup and we strongly warned against it.”
Responding to the Russian allegations about western and specifically that United Kingdom involvement in a possible supply of Chlorine and future chemical weapons attack on Idlib, the British Ambassador Karen Pierce told reporters “it is very clear to us and our partners that this is an effort to distract from an imminent attack on Idilib.”
The British Ambassador stressed, “I repeat again we refute all the Russian accusations against the United Kingdom and our partners.”
She said “it is striking that the Russian Ambassador has even contradicted his own Ministry of Defense personnel. The Russian Ambassador said he was not accusing the UK personally, but Russian Ministry of Defense personnel have done that. So I repeat my refutation.”
Pierce continued “we are living in a parallel universe, where the Russians are seeking to reverse the rules and laws of the rules based international system. And we, the French and the Americans will continue to uphold our international commitments.”
She said “I asked the Russian Ambassador twice in the closed session to retract his accusations against us, and he declined to do that. We have made the point that in order to verify what its position is on Syrian holding of CW stocks, there needs to be a full and transparent declaration by the Syrian Regime to the OPCW. The OPCW is the international body charged with verifying these declarations.”
The British Ambassador also said “it is not enough for the Russians to assert the Syrians have no chemical weapons. There are very many inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the declaration they have given the OPCW so far, and the next step must surely be for the OPCW to have all the access it needs so that it can verify the Syrian declaration.”