The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance is following an international investigation into the unconfirmed report of chemical weapons deployed in Mariupol.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, whose members include Russia and Ukraine, is conducting the investigation, according to a April 12 statement. The OPCW has received correspondence regarding threats of chemical weapons from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Both Russia and Ukraine are parties involved in the Chemical Weapons Convention, the statement reported.
“The use of chemical weapons anywhere by anyone under any circumstances is reprehensible and wholly contrary to the legal norms established by the international community against such use,” the OPCW said in its statement. This quote was also posted April 12 on the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Twitter.
The organization has been monitoring the declared chemical industrial sites in Ukraine. In accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW Technical Secretariat remains ready to aid any State Party's request in the event of use or threat of use of chemical weapons, according to the statement.
The Chemical Weapons Convention has been in force since 1997. Parties to it have committed to never develop, produce, stockpile, acquire, transfer or use chemical weapons, the statement reported.
