SYRIA has accused Western nations of lying about its use of banned munitions and of politicising the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Bassam Sabbagh, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN security council on Wednesday that the country has never used toxic substances, noting that it is a signatory to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.

It joined the treaty in 2013 and had co-operated with the UN and OPCW to destroy its chemical stockpile, Mr Sabbagh said.