OPCW thanks Germany for helping in elimination of Syrian chemical weapons

The Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Thursday confirmed that Germany will dispose of 370 metric tonnes of effluent to be generated by the hydrolysis of Syria's stock of mustard gas aboard the U.S. vessel Cape Ray. The effluent will be incinerated at a specialised German government facility while adhering to the highest safety and environmental standards, said the OPCW - based at the Hague in the Netherlands - in a press release. OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu, welcomed the offer as an important contribution to the international task of eliminating Syria's entire chemical weapons programme. "I wish to thank the Federal Republic of Germany for this contribution, which will further strengthen the impressive collective efforts by our States Parties to remove and destroy Syrian chemical weapons," he stated.