Following the briefings that have taken place within the framework of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), an extensive teleconference was held yesterday at the Foreign Ministry, as announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos at the 25 February meeting of the Hellenic Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense & Foreign Affairs and Special Permanent Committee on the Environment.
During the teleconference, which was attended by Foreign Ministry personnel, competent U.S. government personnel and U.S. experts briefed Greek experts from the State Chemical Laboratory and the National Authority on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on the procedure for destroying Syria’s chemical weapons, which will be carried out in part on a U.S. vessel in international waters, under the supervision of the OPCW, within the framework of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and under international observation.
The program for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons is being carried out in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2118/2013 and the relevant decisions of the OPCW Executive Council.
Greece has made it clear to all the international organizations that, within the framework of the implementation of these decisions, the matter of protecting the Mediterranean marine environment is of vital importance.
Responding to a series of technical question from the Greek side, the U.S. side provided the necessary assurances that all the necessary measures have been taken for the safe destruction of the chemical weapons and the safe transport of chemical weapons byproducts. In this context, the American side stressed that the safety of the Mediterranean marine environment and of citizens is a priority commitment, reiterating with particular emphasis that there is no issue of the dumping of substances or waste in the sea or air during the process of destroying the chemical weapons.
March 13, 2014