Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The UN inspectors were not asked to express a view on who was responsible. Their task was to establish in the first instance whether chemical weapons had been used because, as the Chairman will be aware, there were vigorous denials that they had been used. They were also asked to investigate the extent to which chemical weapons were used.

It is clear from the extent of what was used that the only possible source was the regime. The gas attacks required the military capability and equipment that State armies possess. No non-state actor has ever been known to possess the ability required to mount a chemical weapons attack of the scale and sophistication involved. It would appear to be impossible for any opposition group, or combination thereof, to mount an attack of this magnitude. The missile and launchers used in this operation are known to be used by the Syrian armed forces. There is no record of their possession or use by any opposition group. The gas attack took place during a conventional assault by Syrian state forces against a suburb and I have no doubt that the responsibility for the attack rests with the Syrian regime.

In regard to the issue of Europe having a clear position on Syria, the EU has had a clear position right from the outset of the conflict.

At various stages the Foreign Affairs Council has adopted a sanctions regime against Syria and has expressed its view very forcefully at all times, and the European Union and its member states are the biggest contributors to the humanitarian effort in Syria.

We had a very extensive discussion at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting which took place in Vilnius just over a week ago. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, issued a statement which reflected that discussion. It was not a formal conclusion because it was an informal meeting. The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, attended the meeting with us and discussed the issue with us for approximately three and a half hours of that discussion. That statement made very clear our rejection and condemnation of the use of chemical weapons and our firm commitment that the appropriate place where this issue needed to be addressed and where the international community's response needed to be agreed was through the Security Council. It was a very strong commitment and reassertion of the European Union's willingness and readiness on the humanitarian side and the call for a political solution and the renewal of the Geneva talks. That statement was issued in advance of the subsequent discussions between the United States and Russia which led to the agreement. The European Union has a clear position on the Syrian conflict and has expressed that on more than one occasion.