Some of the waste materials obtained from dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons will be destroyed on German soil, German officials announced Thursday.
After accepting a request from the UN Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Foreign and Defence Ministers made a joint statement saying that the move was intended to help meet the June 30 deadline to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
Foreign Minister Frank0Walter Steinmeier and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that the state-owned company GEKA, based in Munster, is handling the mission.
According to the UN-backed plan, Syria’s most dangerous weapons were to be pulled out by Dec. 31 and the country is to be chemical-weapon feee by June 30. However, Syria’s on-going civil war has delayed the destruction plan.
OPWC officials said that despite the current delays, the deadline could still be met
