UNITED NATIONS, January 07, 22:37 /ITAR-TASS/. Sigrid Kaag, Special Coordinator of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations (OPCW-UN) joint mission, has confirmed that a Danish vessel had taken aboard the first batch of Syria’s chemical weapon materials and sailed off to international waters.
In her statement on Tuesday, Sigrid Kaag said that the Danish ship was being escorted by Russian, Danish, Chinese and Norwegian warships to ensure its security. She said the Danish vessel would remain at sea awaiting the arrival of additional priority chemical materials at the port. On its way to the international waters, the vessel was accompanied by naval escorts provided by Denmark and Norway and Syria.
According to earlier reports, Russia provided the Petr Velikiy missile cruiser to take part in naval escorts.
Under initial plans, the most poisonous agent were to be moved from Syria before December 31, 2013 but these plans were delayed because of transportations security and logistics problems. Nonetheless, Sigrid Kaag reassured that the delay would be no obstacle for the international community in this operation. Under the plans of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, all chemical weapons are to be taken out of Syria by February 5, 2014. The most poisonous agents are to be destroyed outside Syria by March 31, 2014, the rest - by June 30, 2014.