Russian President Calls for Investigation into Strikes on Civilians in Syria

“As for crimes, go back to Raqqa and at least bury the dead bodies, which are still lying amid the ruins after the air strikes on residential neighborhoods – and investigate these attacks,” the Russian leader said in an interview with the NBC television network.

Putin also raised the point that the battle for Iraq’s Mosul involving the US-led forces left the city “razed to the ground”.

The interview heated up when the two were speaking about Syria, when the anchor asked about alleged chemical attacks, for which the West blames the Syrian government. Those claims were rebuffed as “fake news” by the Russian leader.

Putin stressed that Damascus destroyed its stockpile of chemical weapons long ago, and the militants aimed “to simulate chemical attacks” which were then blamed on the Syrian army.

“All the attempts that have been made repeatedly in the recent past, and all the accusations were used to consolidate the efforts against [Syrian President Basshar] Assad,” Putin told the journalist.

As NBC’s Megyn Kelly continued to ask about alleged chemical attacks that led to civilian deaths, Putin noted that there had been no thorough investigation into what had happened in Syria.

“Russia is for a full-scale investigation. If you do not know this, I am telling you this now. It is not true that we are against an objective investigation. That is a lie," he noted.