ZAGREB, April 14, 2018 - Croatia supports its partners and allies in efforts to prevent any further use of chemical weapons in Syria and protect the civilian population there, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said in a statement on Saturday, after three Western countries launched airstrikes at chemical weapons facilities in Syria in response to the chemical attack on Douma on April 7.
The United States, the United Kingdom and France carried out airstrikes at chemical weapons facilities in Syria early Saturday morning after the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad carried out a chemical weapons attack on Douma last week, killing at least 60 civilians.
"Croatia supports its partners and allies in efforts to prevent any further use of chemical weapons in Syria and protect the civilian population. We consider it essential to invest further efforts in creating preconditions for achieving a cessation of hostilities and ensuring access to humanitarian aid, and we call for dialogue and for initiating a political process and transition," the statement said.
The ministry recalled that, for more than seven years, Syria and its citizens have been subjected to extreme violence and ongoing gross violations of international law, human rights and international humanitarian principles.
Croatia "strongly condemns and considers unacceptable the use of illegal chemical weapons in Syria", as confirmed by the joint investigative mechanism of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations, which constitutes a gross violation of international law, including the Chemical Weapons Convention, the ministry said.
The statement said that Croatia would continue following developments in Syria and the wider region. "We consider it essential to prevent any further use of chemical weapons and ensure protection for the citizens of Syria. To this end, we support the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission and hope that it will be allowed to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Croatia advocates establishment of an independent investigative mechanism within the UN to identify those responsible," the ministry said.
