OPCW submits plan to destroy Syrian chemical weapons

Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu submitted to the Organisation's Executive Council a plan for destroying the Syrian chemical weapons (CW) outside the country, warning that there might be some delay in completing the task, it was announced here late Wednesday. The plan aims to meet a deadline set by the Council to destroy Syria's priority chemicals by 31 March 2014 and other chemicals by 30 June of the same year. Uzumcu confirmed that the major elements of a transportation and destruction plan "are in place" and that the mission in Syria is making progress "against heavy odds." He cautioned however that time schedules have been disrupted by a combination of security concerns, clearance procedures in international transit, and even inclement weather conditions, adding that the possibility of "some delays cannot be discounted."