THE HAGUE/MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - The removal of chemical weapons from the Syrian territory for disposal purposes remains relevant and important due to the instability in that country, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported on Thursday after a meeting of its Executive Council.
It said "a significant part of Syria's stockpile falls in the category of common industrial chemicals - or chemicals that otherwise can safely be rendered harmless or destroyed by commercial chemical disposal companies." OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu urged Member States "to encourage qualified firms based in their countries to participate in this process."
"States Parties, especially those with the capacity to safely dispose of such chemicals, can and must play their part," he said. "The resolve to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons in the safest and soonest manner possible reflects a collective commitment."
"A large portion of the materials necessary for the safe and secure packaging of Syria's declared chemicals has arrived in Lebanon. Arrangements are currently underway for their onward transportation to Damascus from where they will be distributed to the various relevant sites," the report said.
"At the same time, the verification of destruction activities being conducted by Syria continues. The number of OPCW inspectors there will soon be increased in keeping with the need to run verification activities in parallel at different locations. This includes witnessing the decanting and packing of chemicals, collecting samples for further analysis, as well as monitoring the loading and embarkation of chemicals for transportation outside Syrian territory," it said.