Chemical weapons inspectors found traces at a military research site in Syria of sarin and VX nerve agents that had not been declared by the Syrian government, reported Reuters.
Sources told Reuters that samples taken from the site by international watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) tested positive for chemical precursors required to make sarin and VX nerve agents.
Following August 2013 sarin gas attacks attributed to the Syrian government that killed hundreds of civilians in the rebel-controlled Ghouta suburb of Damascus, the United States threatened military intervention against the government of Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian regime held off foreign intervention, agreeing to a Russian- and U.S.-brokered chemical disarmament deal in which Damascus joined OPCW, declared any chemical weapons, and vowed to turn over its arsenal.
The recent findings of traces of sarin and VX make many skeptical that Damascus is fully cooperating in chemical disarmament. “This is a pretty strong indication they have been lying about what they did with sarin,” a diplomatic source told Reuters Friday.
“The recent finding of the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team, showing traces of precursors of VX and sarin were found on a site where they were not supposed to be,” said Latvia’s permanent representative at OPCW Maris Klisans in a statement on behalf of the EU Thursday, according to AFP.
“The EU is particularly concerned that, due to the above, Syria may still hold chemical weapons or undeclared chemical agents,” Klisans added.
A total of 1,300 metric tons of chemical weapons have been removed from Syria to date, and OPCW inspectors have made eight visits to the country.
Recent harrowing reports of chlorine gas attacks have prompted the U.S. to request a UN investigation into Syria's chemical weapons.
