Russian soldiers received antidotes for chemical weapons: Ukrainian diplomat

By Merve Berker and Idiris Okuduci

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - Russian soldiers have received antidotes for chemical weapons and it would not be a surprise if they decided to use them, the Ukrainian deputy foreign minister said Saturday.

“We've been doing our best to explain that we should not wait till they use biological or chemical weapons on our intelligence service,” Emine Ceppar told Anadolu Agency at the Doha Forum 2022, which was held under the theme, "Transformation for a New Era.”

“They say that the Russian soldiers have been already using antidotes for the chemical weapons so I believe that we can expect from Russia, that has already crossed all the red lines, the other aggression escalation by using the chemical weapons because the force for bombs already been shot in my country, so the force for weapons is already there,” she said, noting worldwide support on the issue is “okay but not enough.”

-Gulf countries, food security

Touching on the issue concerning Gulf countries, Ceppar said those countries should know better, that the security of Ukraine also means the security of their own citizens in terms of food security.

“Because half of the grains that are brought to these countries from Ukrainian ports that are now under occupation, for example, in Mariupol or in Odessa,” she emphasized.

Noting that Russian forces' efforts to “block the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov” to make sure that Ukraine is “not strong economically,” she said Gulf countries should understand the consequences of the war is not only for Ukrainians but for those countries.

She also shared Ukraine’s expectations from Gulf countries about gas and oil.

-Possible global war

About the possibility of a “global war” that arose from Russia’s war on Ukraine, Ceppar said all should be “honest” when answering such a question.

“There is a risk of having this war not because NATO countries will be involved because we have a maniac, whose name is Putin, and you never know what may trigger him,” she said.

“I think it's always about the nature of aggression when it's not stopped, it becomes bigger.

“We didn't stop him in 2014, so if we don’t stop him today, believe me, it will become bigger,” she added.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has met international outrage with the EU, US and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,081 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,707 injured, according to UN estimates, while cautioning that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.7 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, with millions more displaced inside the country, according to the UN refugee agency.