Syria begins destroying chemical weapons materials
Syria has begun destroying chemical weapons materials identified in cooperation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Syria’s representative to the UN, Ibrahim Olabi, said this at a UN Security Council meeting, The National (UAE) reports.
Cooperation with the OPCW
According to Olabi, this is the first process of destroying such materials in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. He also called it the first destruction of chemical materials on the country’s territory in more than ten years.
Syrian authorities are cooperating with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to secure sites and identify munitions containing prohibited substances, including sarin and chlorine. Olabi said that securing sites and identifying munitions reduces the danger not only for Syria but for the entire world.
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Court hearings and Russia’s position
Olabi also reported that Syria is preparing to hold its first court hearing on the use of such weapons in order to ensure accountability for crimes committed under the former regime.
For more than ten years, Syria’s chemical weapons programme has been one of the symbols of the brutality of the country’s civil war. Investigators and human rights organisations documented the repeated use of prohibited substances, including sarin and chlorine, by the former regime during attacks that killed or injured thousands of civilians.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, representing the aggressor state, accused the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of politicising the investigation into Syria and questioned findings linking the former Syrian government to violations. He said Moscow supports a swift resolution of outstanding issues concerning Syria’s initial declaration under the Chemical Weapons Convention and also expressed doubts about the conclusions presented in OPCW reports.
