BRUSSELS, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - The United States has offered to destroy the most lethal of Syria's chemical weapons on a naval vessel at sea using hydrolysis, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons said Saturday.
Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü announced in a statement to the OPCW Executive Council on Friday that Washington will “contribute a destruction technology, full operational support and financing to neutralize Syria’s priority chemicals, which are to be removed from the country by December 31.”
Üzümcü did not disclose the name of the US ship, but said “a suitable naval vessel is undergoing modifications to support the operations and to accommodate verification activities by the OPCW.”
The OPCW finalized in November a roadmap for destroying Syria’s arsenal of more than 1,000 metric tons of weapons-grade chemicals by mid-2014.
According to the roadmap, the most dangerous, or “priority”, weapons have to be removed from Syria by December 31 and destroyed by April 2014, while the rest is slated for detruction by mid-2014.
Üzümcü said on Saturday that 35 commercial companies have expressed an interest in destroying the less dangerous chemicals declared by the Syrian government, including common industrial ones.
“The companies bidding for participation in the disposal process will be required to comply with all applicable international and national regulations pertaining to safety and the environment,” the OPCW director-general said.
Üzümcü also encouraged governments of the 190 countries-members of the OPCW to contribute funds to the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
OPCW earlier said it would unveil its final plan for destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal abroad by December 17.
The plan should define responsibility for each stage of the dismantlement and take into account target dates, safety and security requirements, as well as overall costs, the OPCW said.
