The UN expects Syria to remove chemical weapons by June.

From Agência Brasil*

Brasilia – Despite the current delay in eliminating Syrian chemical weapons, the United Nations Security Council hopes there will be no postponement of the June 30 deadline for the complete removal of these materials, said the head of the joint mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN, Sigrid Kaag.

The removal of the most critical materials, for subsequent destruction in international waters, began on Tuesday (7), a week after the deadline initially set by agreement between Russia and the United States. Under the agreement, Syria renounced the materials necessary for the construction of chemical weapons and joined the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

Sigrid said there are challenges that could hinder the mission. "We also have to remember that Syria is a country at war, the security situation can change from one day to the next," the mission chief stressed, citing logistical challenges, among others, that delayed obtaining the necessary equipment, such as a strike and a border blockade due to snow.

In Tuesday's removal, an initial batch of priority chemical materials was taken from two locations to the Syrian port of Latakia, where it was loaded onto a commercial vessel that sailed to international waters with naval escort from Denmark, Norway, and Syria.

Priority 1 chemical agents will be destroyed at sea aboard a United States vessel. Maritime security also involves China and Russia.

Lower priority materials will be taken to land-based locations outside of Syria for destruction in countries that have agreed to accept them.

*With information from the UN