Chemical weapons experts blocked from Syrian attack site, UK says
(CNN)They've waited two days to enter the site of the latest suspected chemical attack, where dozens of Syrian civilians were killed.
But despite having UN clearance, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons still can't enter the city of Douma, UK officials said.
The United Kingdom said Syria and Russia have blocked OPCW investigators from entering Douma, and the United States said Russia may have tampered with evidence at the site.
A representative of Russia's military said late Monday that OPCW inspectors would be permitted to travel to Douma on Wednesday.
"Wednesday is when we expect the arrival of the OPCW experts and Russia is not preventing this in any way," Igor Kirillov told journalists at The Hague.
Russia said its security forces would assist the OPCW inspectors.
Also Monday, Russia's envoy to the OPCW, Alexander Shulgin, released a statement accusing the the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets of using US funds to fake the suspected chemical attack.
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The OPCW team is tasked with determining whether banned substances were used in the attack, a claim that both Syria and its most powerful ally, Russia, have vehemently denied.
The team has been in Syria since Saturday, the same day the United States, United Kingdom and France carried out airstrikes against Syrian government targets in response to the April 7 attack in Douma.
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Western leaders have blamed the Syrian government for the Douma attack, which killed about 75 people, including children, UK officials said.
Another 500 people were treated for symptoms consistent with chemical weapons exposure, the World Health Organization reported, citing its partners on the ground.
Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad said Monday his country was ready to facilitate the OPCW team in any way to carry out its mission, the state-run SANA news agency reported.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond directly to CNN's question on whether Russia had blocked the experts. Peskov said only that Russia was against "groundless" accusations about who was responsible for the attack.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the OPCW team's arrival was hampered by the weekend airstrikes, state media RIA Novosti reported.
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