Target Date for Removal of Syrian Chemical Weapons to Go Unmet - East Idaho News
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Target Date for Removal of Syrian Chemical Weapons to Go Unmet

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Thinkstock 122813 SyriaFlag?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1388260506825iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — On Tuesday, a target date for removing Syria’s most dangerous chemical weapons will likely go unmet.

Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime is cooperating with a joint United Nations/Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons team to remove chemical weapons for destruction at sea. The OPCW laid out a Dec. 31 target date when it announced its plan on Nov. 15.

Citing “continuing volatility in overall security conditions, which have constrained planned movements,” the joint UN/OPCW mission announced in a statement on Saturday that “at this stage, transportation of the most critical chemical material before 31 December is unlikely. … Logistical challenges coupled with inclement weather have contributed to this delay.”

Syria’s chemical weapons must be transported through some contested territory before they can be shipped out for destruction at sea aboard the U.S. ship MV Cape Ray in an international operation. Assad’s regime is providing security for the UN/OPCW team.

The Dec. 31 target had appeared dubious of late. A top Russian diplomat said publicly this week that it probably wouldn’t be met, and the State Department responded by casting the date as a “milestone,” not a deadline, in a statement.

While on-the-ground security challenges, weather, and a weighty procurement process for equipment have contributed to the delay, and while the UN/OPCW mission referenced Syrian cooperation, it nonetheless called on Syria to do more: “It remains the ultimate responsibility of the Syrian Arab Republic to ensure the safe packaging, transport, and removal of chemical weapons material and to facilitate the procedures for the expeditious and verifiable destruction of its remaining chemical weapons. … The Syrian Arab Republic needs to intensify its efforts to ensure that its international obligations and commitment are met.”

The OPCW Executive Council will meet and report to the UN Security Council on Jan. 8. It’s unclear whether the chemical weapons are expected to be moved to port by then.

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