Pentagon: US merchant vessel Cape Ray starts destroying Syrian chemical weapons

The process of destruction of chemical weapons taken out of Syria kicked off on Monday on board the US merchant vessel Cape Ray, specially modified for such purposes, in the Mediterranean Sea, US Department of Defense spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren said Monday.

Warren said the destruction of warfare poisonous agents will take about 60 days. The exact terms will also depend on weather conditions, he said.

An international deal to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, mediated in September 2013, prevented a likely United States-led military intervention in the Middle East country.

The process of disarmament in Syria was launched after hundreds of civilians died in a chemical attack made on a Damascus suburb in August 2013. Syria’s chemical weapons were to have been destroyed by June 30, 2014, but the operation was protracted.

Fighting between Syrian government troops and militants has left over 100,000 people dead and displaced millions since its start in 2011, according to UN statistics.

The first two rounds of an international peace conference on Syria, dubbed Geneva-2, organized by Russia and the United States and designed to negotiate a solution to the Syrian crisis, brought no particular progress in January and February. The parties to the Syrian conflict agreed to continue their discussions.
[WASHINGTON, July 07. /ITAR-TASS]
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Related:

• Alleged Chlorine Gas Attacks Focus Renewed Attention on Syria

• France says Syria used chlorine in 14 recent attacks

• Britain’s Hague Urges Quick Syria Chlorine Probe. - "Time is of the essence in establishing the full facts."

• Hollande: France has 'information' that Assad regime still using chemical weapons

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• Deputy PΜ and FΜ Venizelos’ statement on Syria at today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council (Luxembourg)