Russia sent 10 planes Syria carrying equipment to help in the operation aimed at removing and destroying Damascus’ chemical arsenal.

Russia sent 10 planes Syria carrying equipment to help in the operation aimed at removing and destroying Damascus’ chemical arsenal.

Russian ambassador to Damascus Azamat Kulmukhametov announced the move, saying the planes carrying the equipment have touched down in the Syrian port city of Latakia.

"An air bridge has been established to deliver the technology and the equipment necessary for assisting the operation for the removal of the chemical weapons from Syria," he told the RIA Novosti news agency.

"Today there have been 10 flights to Latakia and this is going to continue," he added.

Kulmukhametov did not give further details. But the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which is overseeing the removal has said Russian armored trucks will help take Syria's chemical weapons out of the country.

A Danish and a Norwegian frigate are waiting in Cyprus to escort Nordic cargo ships to collect the chemicals from Latakia. The Nordic vessels will take the chemicals to an Italian port, where they will be loaded onto a US ship for destruction.