SyriaAfter failing 5 February deadline, Syria wants 100-day extension to remove chemicals

After missing the 5 February deadline to have all its chemical weapons removed from its territory, Syria has submitted a new 100-day plan for their removal. The international group monitoring the operation says the completion of the removal can be accomplished in less time than that.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) executive committee met on Friday in The Hague to discuss the joint OPCW and UN mission at a time when there is a growing international frustration with Syria over its failure to live up to its commitments.

Arutz Sheva reports that the Syrian government failed to meet the 5 February OPCW deadline to move all of its declared chemical substances and precursors out of the country.

The OPCW deadline for all of Syria’s declared chemical materials to be destroyed is 30 June.

“The Syrian 100 day plan for removal of the chemicals, on which we have been briefed, is not adequate,” Philip Hall, head of the British Foreign Office Counter Proliferation Department, told the OPCW, according to a copy of his statement.

“We now urge the Syrian authorities to accept the proposals submitted by the Operational Planning Group that provide for removal in a much shorter time frame, without compromising on security,” he said.

A senior UN diplomat, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the OPCW believes the operation can be carried out before the end of March, adding that Syria’s proposed end-May deadline would not leave enough time for the chemicals to be destroyed before the end of June.

Specialists say that the MV Cape Ray, a U.S. ship equipped with special equipment to neutralize the most toxic of Syria’s chemicals at sea, will require ninety days to complete the destruction.

“The international community has put into place everything that is necessary for transport and destruction of these chemicals. Sufficient equipment and material has been provided to Syria. The ships to carry the chemicals away from Syria are waiting,” said Robert Mikulak, U.S. ambassador to the OPCW.

“The U.S. ship to destroy CW agent and precursors is now in the region and waiting. Commercial facilities to destroy other chemicals have been selected and contracts awarded; they are waiting. And yet Syria continues to drag its feet,” he said.

Syria had 1,300 tons of declared chemicals, Mikulak said, and 95.5 percent of the worst toxins and 81.1 percent of priority two chemicals remained in the country. The worst chemicals are supposed to be destroyed by the end of March and the rest of the arsenal by the end of June.

“Syria should revise its 100-day transport schedule to embrace the recommendations developed by the OPCW, the UN … to expedite removal,” said Mikulak.

Sigrid Kaag, head of the international inspection mission in Syria, said a few days ago that she did not believe Syria was intentionally delaying the removal of its chemical arsenal, but that accelerated cooperation was vital to meet the mid-year deadline.

“Intermediate milestones ideally should have been met, they have not been met, there are delays,” she said. “Delays are not insurmountable. Delays have a reason, there’s a rationale, there’s a context.”