Ukraine is following with deep concern and anxiety the developments in Syrian Arab Republic, where the tension has been constantly escalating.

The position of our state on Syria conflict has recently been reiterated by the President of Ukraine: we stand for a prompt end of bloodshed and necessity to settle the conflict exclusively by political and diplomatic measures.

At the same time, Ukraine is deeply concerned by receiving more and more conclusive evidences of the use of chemical weapons in Syria that led to numerous victims. Those acts represent the gross violations of the international law, in particular of the Convention on Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and Their Destruction.

We call on the conflict parties and leading world actors to keep as balanced and restrained position as possible, to avoid in every possible way taking any steps that might deteriorate already critical situation in the country.

Ukraine hopes that all international initiatives to alleviate the tension around Syria, including recently voiced proposal to establish an international control over chemical weapons in this country, will be carefully studied and then implemented.

One of the vivid examples of Ukraine’s responsible approach to the ways of solving the Syrian crisis is voluntary and complete halting by our country of any military and technical cooperation with Syria back in May 2011.

As regards recently published in the American Washington Post article “Ukrainian port eyed as analysts seek Syria’s arms source“, the MFA of Ukraine states with all the responsibility that throughout 2012-2013 there were no supplies to Syria nor transit from the Russian Federation trough the territory of our country of goods for military purposes.

We call on other states to follow the equally responsible approach.