The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has begun on Saturday to examine details of chemical arsenal supplied by the Syrian government.
The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has begun on Saturday to examine details of chemical arsenal supplied by the Syrian government.
The chemical watchdog said it has received an initial report from Damascus, as UN envoys were due to resume talks on a draft Security Council resolution that would enshrine the plan to neutralize the lethal weapons.
The US-Russian plan to dismantle the chemical arms stockpile has helped prevent US-led offensive against Syria. Under the plan, the Syrian government had until Saturday to supply details of its arsenal.
On the eve of the disclosure deadline, the OPCW said it "has received an initial disclosure from the Syrian government of its chemical weapons program." Its Technical Secretariat is now examining the details, it said.
A UN diplomat said the OPCW had received the Syrian declaration on Thursday.
"It is quite lengthy," he said.
The OPCW has postponed a meeting of its Executive Council set for Sunday that had been due to discuss how to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons program.
US-Russia Cooperation
US Secretary of State John Kerry said he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov spoke on the telephone Friday about a "strong" UN Security Council resolution on the deal.
"We talked about the cooperation which we both agreed to continue to provide, moving not only towards the adoption of the OPCW rules and regulations, but also a resolution that is firm and strong within the United Nations," Kerry said. "We will continue to work on that," said Kerry.
The Security Council's five permanent members -- the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain -- have been wrangling over the text of the resolution since Monday in a bid to find common ground.
China Urges Deal Implementation
For its part, China urged a quick implementation of a landmark US-Russian deal to destroy Syria's chemical stockpile. Beijing would "support the early launch of the process to destroy Syria's chemical weapons", Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
"We believe that a political settlement is the only right way out in defusing the Syrian crisis," he added.
