Syria fully cooperative on chemical disarmament – mission head

Syria has so far “fully cooperated” in destroying its massive chemical arsenal, the chief of the joint Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and United Nations mission said, according to  Voice of Russia, AFP, TASS

“To date, the government of Syria has fully cooperated in supporting the work of the advance team and the OPCW-UN joint mission,” said mission chief Sigfrid Kaag in Damascus.

Kaag said that “by joining the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Syrian government has indicated its commitment to the task” of destroying it arsenal.

A team of UN-OPCW inspectors arrived in Syria on October 1 to oversee the implementation of UN Security Council 2118, which orders the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons and production facilities by mid-2014.

“The timeframes are challenging given the goal of the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons programme in the first half of 2014,” Kaag said in a statement.

UN chemical mission head arrives in Syria – OPCW

The top UN official leading the mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons has arrived in Damascus, the world’s chemical watchdog said.

“Today, the Special Coordinator, Ms Sigrid Kaag arrived in Damascus,” the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement.

The Dutch official, named last week to head the risky joint mission to eradicate Syria’s chemical stockpiles, travelled to The Hague over the weekend to meet the OPCW’s director general Ahmet Uzumcu, the organisation added.

The organisation, which this month was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the United Nations currently have about 60 experts working in Syria to eradicate chemical weapons.

M.D