THE HAGUE, December 9. /TASS/. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat is closely monitoring the events in Syria and reminds the Syrian authorities about Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which remain in effect, the Organization said in its press release.
"The Secretariat has communicated with the Syrian embassy with a view to emphasizing the paramount importance of ensuring the safety and security of all chemical weapons related materials and facilities at all locations on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic," the statement reads. "The Secretariat stands ready to engage further on these matters with relevant Syrian authorities and international partners."
The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into effect for Syria on October 14, 2013. In 30 days, the country presented its initial declaration on its chemical weapons program. However, the OPCW considered this declaration incomplete and imprecise. In these circumstances, a special group has been established, which has been working on elimination of gaps and inconsistencies in the initial declaration to this day.
"Serious concerns regarding the completeness of Syria’s initial declaration and the fate of the significant amount of unaccounted chemical weapons remain," the Organization said.
On November 27, armed opposition militias initiated a large-scale offensive against positions of the Syrian army in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. By the evening of December 7, they had taken several major cities (Aleppo, Hama, Daraa, and Homs), and entered Damascus on December 8. The government forces left the city. Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali expressed his readiness for a peaceful transfer of power in the republic. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, Syrian President Bashar Assad resigned and left the country, having ordered a peaceful transfer of power.