MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) – The elimination of the Syrian government’s chemical arsenal by mid-2014 is realistic if all involved parties cooperate, including with ceasefires, the head of an international watchdog in charge of the task said Wednesday.
“Elimination of those weapons is in the interest of all,” Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), told a news conference in The Hague.
“Sometimes temporary ceasefires are needed in order to let the experts do their work. The targets could be reached if all parties cooperate. So far, the Syrian authorities have been cooperative,” Uzumcu continued.
Under a US-Russian deal clinched last month, Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles must be destroyed by June 30, 2014. “I would not say the deadlines are unrealistic,” Uzumcu said. “It depends on the situation on the ground.”
He said that specialists from his organization started their mission in Syria on Monday and had so far inspected one site, with more than 20 other sites slated to be visited in the coming weeks.
Syrian authorities on Sunday began destroying containers and devices used to deploy chemical weapons, Uzumcu said. The state also intends to render all chemical-arms-making facilities unusable by November 1, he added.
Uzumcu also said he would soon sign a supplementary agreement between the OPCW and the United Nations to facilitate the provision of security and logistics support by the UN for the dismantlement mission.
US President Barack Obama’s administration accuses Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government of being behind an August 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus that Washington says left more than 1,400 dead.
United Nations investigators issued a report last month confirming the use of sarin gas in the attack but did not specify who might be responsible.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his government has evidence showing that the attack was likely carried out by Syrian rebels seeking to provoke outside military intervention against government forces. No specific evidence to support that claim has been made public.
