U.N. weapons inspectors are now preparing to return to Syria, after Russia announced that officials in Damascus provided "material evidence" proving that rebels were involved in the use of chemical weapons in an August attack.
Head of the investigation team Ake Sellstrom reported to CNN that his group plans to fly back to Syria as early as next week.
In an interview with Russia Today, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkove said that the original U.N. report, which bolstered Western notions that the Assad regime was responsible for using the nerve agent sarin gas, consisted of "insufficient information." He also mentioned that Russia had been handed some of its own evidence that indicated the rebel forces were behind the attacks. He did not specify what the evidence was.
"This analysis is not finished, so the point here is not about accusing parties," Ryabkov stated. "But the point is...that those inspectors of the U.N. should come back to Syria to complete their investigation.
"This confirmation and this evidence has been transmitted to the Russian side... and we are in the process of studying those."
Sergei told reporters that officials would show evidence to the Security Council that upheld this new development, but did not mention when the presentation would occur. He also said he hadn't seen the report yet.
Russia, one of Syria's closest allies, currently has a defense contract with the regime that's rumored to be for more than $4 billion.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Ryabkov this week to "express his and the Syrian people's gratitutde for the Russian positions supporting Syria in confronting the aggressive attack and the terrorism that is aided by Western, Arab and regional states," a state-run Syrian news service reported.
U.N. inspectors officially stated they'd discovered "clear and convincing evidence," that there was, in fact, sarin gas used in Syria against men, women and children living in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus. But they didn't specify if the regime or the rebel forces executed the chemical attack, for they were not tasked to do so.
