Syria Chemical Weapons Deadline May Pass Unmet
by VOA News December 30, 2013
Tuesday's deadline to move most of Syria's chemical weapons out of the country will likely go unmet.
A statement issued over the weekend from the United Nations and an international chemical weapons monitoring group cited delays due to unstable security, logistical problems, and bad weather.
The statement says 'At this stage, transportation of the most critical chemical material before 31 December is unlikely.'
The New York Times, citing sources with the mission to remove the weapons, reported on Sunday that Syria has apparently not begun to move weapons toward the port staging areas.
The Syrian government agreed to allow the U.N and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons access to its chemical weapons arsenal for destruction at sea.
On November 15, the OPCW outlined a plan to have many of the most deadly weapons moved out by December 31. The plan is to ensure that Syria destroys all its chemical weapons in the arsenal by the middle of 2014.
Mission officials and analysts told VOA that the initial phase of the plan involves Syria packaging and transporting the weapons overland across Syria to Latakia, its major port on the Mediterranean Sea.
Danish and Norwegian cargo ships will transport the shipment from the port to a yet-to-be designated Italian destination.
There the weapons will be loaded onto the U.S. Navy vessel Cape Ray, which has been outfitted with equipment to neutralize the chemicals. The destruction is then scheduled to take place at sea.
Russia is providing armored trucks, water tanks, and other logistical supplies for the land operation in Syria. Moscow has also said it will also provide security for operation at Latakia port and in Syrian territorial waters.
China will be part of the initial military escort to Italy and will also provide surveillance cameras and 10 ambulances to the operation.
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