In a significant move towards eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons programme, the head of the UN-backed international watchdog dedicated to ending the scourge has been visiting Damascus, together with a high-level delegation.
In a press release on Saturday the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Director-General Fernando Arias and his team had met interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and caretaker Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, at their invitation – drawing a line under “11 years of obstruction” by the Assad regime, which was driven from power in early December.
The meetings were described as long, productive, and open, with an in-depth exchange of information. This dialogue aims to break the long stalemate over use of the banned weapons during Syria’s brutal civil conflict, and achieve tangible results.
