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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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23Jun14
Russia hails complete removal of war chemicals from Syria
Russia hailed the complete removal of war chemicals from Syria, calling the operation "large-scale and unprecedented," the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday in a statement.
"Russia welcomes the successful completion of the international operation to remove all chemical weapon components from Syria," the statement said.
It added that the remaining part of the plan would be "purely technical," which is to destroy the chemicals at the assigned facility on board the U.S. vessel Cape Ray and at commercial facilities in Finland, Germany, Britain and the United States.
"The principal objective of the chemical demilitarization in Syria is achieved," Moscow said, noting that this is a positive example of the international community solving the most difficult tasks with determination and coordination.
The operation was the most complicated and important stage of the plan initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2013 and designed by the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ( OPCW) and approved by the UN Security Council's resolution 2118, the ministry said.
Russia also called on all the states that have not joined the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons to follow Syria's steps.
Last year, Syria renounced its chemical weapons material and joined the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons under an agreement brokered by Russia and the United States.
The OPCW announced earlier that the last of the remaining chemicals identified for removal from Syria were loaded Monday afternoon aboard the Danish ship Ark Futura.
The United Nations and the OPCW set up a joint mission last October to oversee the elimination of Syria's chemical weapons under a Security Council resolution. The removal of the most critical material for destruction began in January, and the deadline for the complete removal is June 30.
[Source: Xinhua, Moscow, 23Jun14]
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