Syria gets all necessary resources to take chemical weapons to Latakia

THE HAGUE- Syria has received all the necessary resources required for taking chemical weapons to the port of Latakia for further transportation and destruction outsider the country, Ahmet Uzumcu, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said,according to ITAR TASS.

Syria has now received “virtually all of the necessary logistical resources for the ground transportation” of priority chemicals to the port of Latakia for removal from Syria by maritime vessels and underlined the importance of maintaining progress, he said at the OPCW Executive Council.

Uzumcu described this as “an important new phase” in the work of the OPCW-U.N. Joint Mission.

He noted that this movement has occurred after some delays in December caused by security concerns, the procurement and delivery of large quantities of packaging and transportation materials and equipment, and adverse weather conditions.

The Executive Council in its report has noted “that, notwithstanding the technical difficulties resulting in delays, the transportation of priority chemicals began on January 7.

The chemicals were transported from two sites and loaded onto a Danish vessel which left the port of Latakia. The operation was assisted and verified by the OPCW-U.N. Joint Mission in Syria.

 “This is an important step commencing the transportation of these materials as part of the plan to complete their disposal outside the territory of Syria,” Uzumcu said.

The plan for destroying the Syrian chemical weapons outside of the country, which was submitted to the Executive Council by OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu in late December 2013, aims to meet a deadline set by the Council to destroy Syria’s priority chemicals by March 31, 2014 and other mostly commodity chemicals by June 30, 2014.

Uzumcu confirmed that “the major elements of a transportation and destruction plan are in place” and that the mission in Syria “is making progress against heavy odds,” including a “massive procurement effort” that has gone into the collection and delivery to Syria of materials and equipment. He credited OPCW States Parties for offering transport, destruction facilities and other material assistance, and for making important financial contributions to the Special Trust Fund.

R.S