France: Syria must conform to WMD obligations without delay

The French government reiterated on Thursday its position that Syria must implement "without delay" its commitments and undertakings under the international agreement to rid that country of all chemical weapons and delivery systems, and Paris said it would stress this point in a meeting at the UN Security Council later in the day. According to experts at the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), there have been delays in delivering Syrian WMD materials for shipment from the port of Latakkia. France and several other countries have expressed concern about the delays because of the volatility of the ongoing conflict in Syria and the need to meet the deadline of June 30 to dismantle and destroy all Syrian WMD. "Our aim is that of a rapid, complete and verified dismantling," Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said in answer to KUNA questions. The French official was largely repeating statements earlier this week by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who issued "a warning" to Syria over the delays in the UN-OPCW programme that was brokered late last year by the US and Russia. Nadal indicated that the UN-OPCW Special Coordinator, Sigrid Kaag, would be briefing the Security Council later Thursday on the state of progress in the Syrian operation. "France will recall - just like the Foreign Minister stressed last Tuesday - that Syria must get in conformity with its obligations without delay," the French spokesman said, noting that the OPCW, which is based in Holland, would be holding an Executive Board meeting on February 21. The OPCW, a little known organisation until the Syrian chemical weapons crisis erupted, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for the work it has undertaken.