09.12 Russia in Talks on Moving Chemical Weapons from Syria - Deputy FM

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is in talks about providing safe transport of chemical weapons out of Syria, a deputy foreign minister said Monday.

Mikhail Bogdanov said that Moscow was examining possible options with the United States and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Asked whether Russia had offered help in transporting Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, he said: “We are discussing these issues with our American colleagues and via the OPCW in the Hague. I think an optimal solution will be found.”

He added that there was a “very high level of mutual understanding” between the parties in discussing which ships might be used to move the weapons as well as the question of military protection of vessels during transportation.

The OPCW finalized in November a roadmap for destroying Syria’s arsenal of more than 1,000 metric tons of weapons-grade chemicals by mid-2014. According to the roadmap, the most dangerous, or “priority”, weapons have to be removed from Syria by December 31 and destroyed by April 2014, while the rest is slated for detruction by mid-2014.

The disarmament process was launched after an August 21 chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians. The US and Western allies accused the Syrian government of responsibility for that attack, but Damascus blamed rebel groups fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad.