UN chief welcomes progress in effort to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday welcomed the progress made in the process of removing Syria’s most critical chemical weapons material outside of the country.

Ban’s spokesperson issued a statement after the UN chief was informed by the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations that further progress has been made towards the removal and eliminations of Syrian chemical weapons program.

Earlier on Tuesday, OPCW-UN Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag announced that a first shipment of chemical materials has been moved from Syria, which initiated the process of transferring chemical weapons from the country to locations outside its territory for destruction.

Ban commended in the statement the special coordinator and her team for their steadfast work in challenging circumstances.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the continuing progress in the international effort to eliminate the chemical weapons program of the Syrian Arab Republic, as demonstrated by this latest achievement,” the statement said.

According to the joint mission overseeing the disarmament, a first quantity of priority chemical materials was moved from two sites to the port of Latakia for verification and was then loaded onto a Danish cargo ship on Tuesday.

In accordance with the decisions of the Security Council and OPCW Executive Council, Syria’s chemical weapons will be transported outside its territory to ensure their destruction in the safest and soonest manner, and no later than June 30, 2014.