Syria submits plan for chemical weapons’ destruction

Damascus – Syria has submitted an initial declaration of its chemical weapon programme, including a general plan of their destruction, the Organisation of the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Sunday.

“The Syrian Arab Republic submitted to the OPCW its formal initial declaration covering its chemical weapons programme,” the OPCW said in a statement, Xinhua reported.

It added that the document from Syria includes a general plan of destruction for consideration by the OPCW executive council.

“Syria’s submission is in line with the deadline set by the OPCW Executive Council in its decision of Sep 27, 2013 requiring a complete initial declaration by Oct 27, 2014.

“Such declarations provide the basis on which plans are devised for a systematic, total and verified destruction of declared chemical weapons and production facilities,” the statement said.

The United Nations Security Council said the OPCW will help Syria destroy its chemical weapons by mid-2014. The mission will be expanded with more investigators arriving in the unrest-torn country by Nov 1.