Moscow wants clarity from Turkey on detention of militants with sarin – Lavrov

(Interfax – PIONERSKY, Kaliningrad region, June 6, 2013) Turkey has still not clarified reports that militants possessing sarin were detained on its territory some time ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

“I would like to seize this opportunity to remind you that we still expect full information from our Turkish partners regarding reports, which came about a week ago, that militants had been detained on Turkish territory and sarin had been found on them,” Lavrov said at a press conference in the Kaliningrad region.

“We would really like to have clarity in all these issues, because the theme of chemical weapons is becoming a matter of speculations and provocation,” he said.

Lavrov suggested that some forces may be seeking to use the detention of militants possessing sarin in Turkey as a pretext to invade Syria.

“Someone wants to use this in order to say that the red line has been crossed and foreign intervention is necessary,” he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich earlier expressed Moscow’s concerns about reports on the arrest of over ten extremists belonging to the terrorist group Al-Nusra Front possessing sarin in Turkey.