UNITED NATIONS, August 21 (RIA Novosti) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the destruction of all of Syria's declared chemical weapons.
“This marks a significant achievement in the international community’s efforts to eliminate the chemical weapons program of the Syrian Arab Republic, following the framework agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States of America,” Ban said in a statement Wednesday.
Ban stressed that he “appreciates the cooperation of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and commends those member states that provided crucial support to this process, as well as the United Nations -Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Joint Mission for its leadership and commitment.”
On August 12, the US Department of Defense released a statement, saying it had neutralized the entire stockpile of deadly sarin gas, shipped out of Syria, destroying “all 581 metric tons of a precursor chemical for sarin gas.”
The OPCW confirmed that “US Maritime Vessel Cape Ray has completed destruction of its entire consignment of 600 metric tons of Category 1 chemicals from the Syrian Arab Republic” including “the most dangerous chemicals in Syria’s arsenal: 581 metric tonnes of DF, a binary precursor for sarin gas, and 19.8 metric tons of ready-to-use sulfur mustard.”
Ban on Wednesday concluded by urging Syria to continue its efforts aimed at the full elimination of its chemical weapons program.
“[I urge] the Syrian Arab Republic to build on this historic milestone in order to ensure the full elimination of its chemical weapons program, including the destruction of the remaining chemical weapons production facilities,” the statement by the UN Chief said.
