28 December 2013 – The deadline set for the removal of the most critical chemical weapons material from Syria for destruction will not be met owing to technical difficulties, the Joint Mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations said on Saturday. Preparations continue “in readiness” for the transport of these materials, the Joint Mission said in a statement issued in the Syrian port city of Latakia. “However, at this stage, transportation of the most critical chemical material before 31 December is unlikely.” At the end of October, the Syrian Government destroyed critical chemical weapons production equipment, rendering it inoperable.
By doing so, Damascus met the deadline set by the OPCW Executive Council to complete the destruction of such equipment by 1 November. According to the plan approved by the OPCW, Syria's chemical weapons will be transported outside its territory to ensure their destruction in the “safest and soonest manner,” and no later than 30 June 2014. The 31 December date for the removal of the most critical chemical weapons material from Syria for destruction was the first “intermediate milestone” set by the OPCW. “A number of external factors have impacted upon timelines, not least the continuing volatility in overall security conditions, which have constrained planned movements,” said the Joint Mission.
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Syria blamed for missed deadline on chemical arsenal
The Obama administration Monday called on Syria to honor promises to surrender its chemical weapons stockpile, a day after international experts acknowledged delays in removing some of the most lethal toxins from the country.
U.S. officials conceded that a Tuesday deadline for ridding Syria of hundreds of tons of liquid poisons would not be met, citing stalled progress in transporting the chemicals across war-ravaged countryside to ships that will carry them out of the region. But the officials insisted that the overall effort to destroy President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical arsenal was on track.
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