Syria submits new plan to ship its most dangerous chemicals abroad by April - UN
5 March 2014, 06:56 -- Syria has shipped out about a third of its chemical weapons stockpile and has submitted a new plan to ship its most dangerous chemicals abroad by April, a UN spokesman said here on Tuesday.
'Syria has submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) a revised proposal that aims to complete the removal of all chemicals from Syria before the end of next month,' said Martin Nesirky, spokesperson for UN secretary-general, at a daily briefing.
'The OPCW-UN Joint Mission also verified that two more consignments of chemicals have left the port of Latakia, including a quantity of mustard gas -- a Priority 1 chemical,' Nesirky said.
'Another movement, a significant consignment of other Priority 1 chemicals, is scheduled to arrive in Latakia during this week, which will bring the total number of movements so far to six,' he said.
The spokesman said the six movements represent more than 35 percent of all chemicals that must be removed from Syria for destruction, including 23 percent of Priority 1 chemicals and 63 percent of Priority 2 chemicals.
'In addition, the OPCW has verified that Syria has destroyed, inside the country, more than 93 percent of its stock of isopropanol,' said the spokesperson.
Sigrid Kaag, the Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission, briefed the OPCW Executive Council in The Hague on Tuesday, said Nesirky.
'She will brief the Security Council on Wednesday on Syria's chemical weapons program,' Nesirky added.
Prior to initiating operations in January to remove its chemicals, Syria, in late 2013, completed the functional destruction of its chemical weapons production facilities, mixing and filling equipment, and all of its munitions that were designed for use with chemical warfare agents.
Damascus missed earlier deadlines in December and February. The UN Security Council and OPCW executive council earlier established the final deadline for the removal and elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons program as the end of June 2014.
Syria agrees to 60-day timetable to remove its chemical stockpile - OPCW
The Dutch diplomat leading an international mission to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons program,Sigrid Kaag, has said Syria has agreed to a 60-day timetable 'to accelerate and intensify their efforts to ensure timely removal' of chemicals that will be destroyed outside the country, and added that the pace of removing chemicals from the civil war-torn country is picking up and an end-of-June deadline for total destruction of the program is still achievable.
In an interview with The Associated Press at the headquarters of the international watchdog overseeing the unprecedented mission, Kaag stated that 'as of today, nearly one third of Syria's chemical weapons material has been removed or destroyed inside the country.'
Russia has been seen as a playing an important role in pressing Syria to get rid of the chemicals it stockpiled to turn into poison gas and nerve agents.
'I expect and certainly hope that the unity of purpose that has so far supported the joint mission and the implementation in country is retained,' Kaag said, when asked if the Ukraine tensions could affect the mission.
Syria had been criticized in recent weeks for the slow pace of removing chemicals.
OPCW to discuss new destruction plan for Syrian chemical weapons early March
Syria has presented a new plan for the destruction of its chemical weapons, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The OPCW has received a new chemical weapons destruction plan from Syria and is studying it, OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan said on Friday.
The OPCW Executive Council will debate the plan during its session on March 4-7, he said.
Luhan did not say whether the new plan stipulated the rescheduling of the initial time framework for Syria's chemical disarmament.
Under the existing plan, all of Syria's chemical arsenals are to be destroyed by June 30.
Finnish and US companies win tender on Syrian chemical weapon annihilation – OPCW
Finnish company Ekokem OY AB and the US company Veolia Environmental Services Technical Solutions won a tender for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons, Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), stated today.
Fourteen companies, including Russia's 'Vector', competed to obtain the tender.
The above-mentioned companies will have to annihilate 800 tons of industrial chemicals and several million liters of reactionary substances that appeared after a chemical weapon was annihilated on the board the US Cape Ray.
Most chemical weapons, including their most dangerous components, will be removed from Syria before March 1, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad said.
'It is absolutely true, a larger part of our chemical weapons, its most dangerous part, will be removed before March 1,' he said on Tuesday.
Under the United Nations Security Council Resolution N2118 the removal should be completed before June 30, Haddad said.
'I think we shall meet this deadline,' the head of the Syrian diplomatic mission said.
Voice of Russia, Interfax,TASS, AP
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
