Sunday, October 6, 2013

Syria Preparing to Surrender Chemical-Weapons Stockpile


Syria appears to be moving its chemical weapons to a small number of central locations in a sign that the regime is preparing to cooperate with an international effort to rapidly destroy its entire arsenal of deadly toxins, the Washington Post quoted U.S. officials as saying.

“The movement of chemicals and equipment in recent days — which initially spurred fears that Syrian officials were trying to hide parts of their stockpile — suggests instead that the weapons are being consolidated ahead of a first visit by inspection teams that arrived in the country last week,” administration officials said. (Washington Post, 6 October)

“There are encouraging signals, but we are really in the first weeks of the process,” said a senior State Department official.

Photo credit: UN vehicles transport a team of experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Damascus, October 5, 2013. (Khaled Al-Hariri/Reuters/WashPost)

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