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Syria chemical weapons: Security 'slows transport' | Syria chemical weapons: Security 'slows transport' |
(35 minutes later) | |
The UN body tasked with removing and destroying Syria's chemical arsenal says security concerns have slowed down the process. | The UN body tasked with removing and destroying Syria's chemical arsenal says security concerns have slowed down the process. |
Ahmet Uzumcu, who heads the organisation, said the amount of chemicals that had reached the Syrian port of Latakia ready to leave the country was not that high. | |
But he expressed confidence the arms would be destroyed by the end of June. | |
There are plans to speed up the process. | |
Removing the most dangerous chemicals is the first step of a UN-backed deal to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal. | Removing the most dangerous chemicals is the first step of a UN-backed deal to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal. |
Mr Uzumcu, who leads the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the delays were due to technical problems and the obvious difficulties of operating in a warzone. | |
But he said additional measures had been put in place to help smooth the transportation. | |
He was speaking in Rome, where he sought to calm local concerns about plans for an as yet unnamed Italian port to play a part in the operation. | |
Denmark and Norway are providing cargo ships and military escorts to take the chemicals to the Italian port where the "most critical" chemical agents will be loaded onto a US Maritime Administration cargo ship, MV Cape Ray. | |
The plan is that the materials will then be destroyed by a process known as hydrolysis in international waters. | |
The Syrian authorities are responsible for packing and safely transporting the chemical weapons to Latakia. |