On Monday, the Syrian government drew international rebukes after vowing to use chemical weapons in the event of an attack by foreign countries. This is Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jihad Makdissi.

Jihad Makdissi: “Any stocks of WMD or any unconventional weapon that the Syrian Arab Republic possesses would never — would never be used against civilians or against the Syrian people during this crisis at any circumstances, no matter how the crisis would evolve, no matter how. So this is the title. All the stocks of these weapons that Syrian Arab Republic possess are monitored — monitored and guarded by the Syrian army. These weapons are meant to be used only and strictly in the event of external aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic.”