Syria advances chemical stockpile removal to meet June destruction deadline

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 7 (UPI) -- The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' Executive Council "positively noted" Friday that while there is an "increasing pace" in the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, Syria should move forward in acceleration of removal efforts.

Prior to the OPCW Executive Council's session this week, the Syrian government advanced the projected timetable for removal of "all relevant chemicals from its territory by 27 April 2014" in order to meet the June 30 destruction deadline set by the Executive Council and UN Security Council.

With a new deadline in place, the Council asked Syria to continue its "systematic, predictable and substantial movements."

The UN-OPCW Joint Mission verified the destruction of nearly 29 percent of Syria's total chemical stockpile.

On Thursday, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken met with UN-OPCW Joint Mission Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag to discuss the Joint Mission's progress and express "the continued readiness of the United States and the international community to support the Joint Mission’s efforts to facilitate the Syrian government’s meeting its obligations."

[OPCW] [White House]