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UN official: Syria's says it’s ending its chemical weapons, but this is ‘imprecise’

March 11, 2022 at 4:14 pm

Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, speaks at a UN Security Council [DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images]

A UN official said that the Syrian regime’s announcement that it is ending its chemical weapons programme was “imprecise and incomplete”, stressing that the Syrian regime continues its non-observance with relevant Security Council resolutions.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, told the UN Security Council yesterday that “the secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons did not obtain the requested information from Syria, which I urgently call on to respond to the organisation’s repeated requests.”

“I regret to inform you that the Technical Secretariat of OPCW has not yet been able to initiate the 25th round of consultations in Damascus, due to Syria’s refusal to issue an entry visa to a member of the OPCW team.”

Nakamitsu called on the Syrian regime to “comply with the Security Council Resolution No. 2118 of 2013, including immediate and unfettered access to all personnel assigned by the Secretariat of the OPCW.”

Adding that the Syrian regime’s announcement that it is ending its chemical programme was “imprecise and incomplete, besides existence of gaps and inconsistencies in the information provided by Syria in a way that contradicts with the requirements of Council Resolution No. 2118.”

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