Russia: 50 Trucks and 25 Ural armored vehicles Airlifted to Syria for Chemical Arms Removal.

Russia: 50 Trucks and 25 Ural armored vehicles Airlifted to Syria for Chemical Arms Removal.(RN).
Russia has handed over vehicles and supplies to assist Syria with destruction of its chemical weapons stockpile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

“Russia airlifted 75 vehicles, including 50 Kamaz trucks and 25 Ural armored vehicles to the airport in Latakia on December 18-20,” Shoigu said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

Shoigu said other supplies, including water tanks, field kitchens and tents for personnel involved in transportation and destruction of Syrian chemical stocks, were also delivered during the same period.
The equipment will help experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to safely transport the Syrian chemical stockpile to the port of Latakia to be later transferred to a US Navy ship for destruction, he said.
Russia is among several nations assisting the chemical disarmament effort in Syria.
The process was launched by a Russian-US joint initiative following an August 21 chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb that allegedly killed hundreds of civilians. The US and Western allies accused the Syrian government of responsibility for the attack, but Damascus blamed rebel groups.
The operation to destroy Syria’s arsenal of more than 1,000 metric tons of weapons-grade chemicals is due to take place in two stages. The most dangerous weapons have to be removed from Syria by the end of December and destroyed at sea by April, the rest is slated for destruction by mid-2014.

Syria’s most toxic substances to be destroyed on US ship - global watchdog.

Syria’s most toxic substances to be destroyed on US ship - global watchdog.(RT).

“The United States has offered to contribute destruction technology, full operational support and financing to neutralize Syria's priority chemicals,” announced the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons (OPCW) in a statement issued on Saturday.

The director-general of the organization, Ahmet Uzumcu, said that Syria’s most toxic substances will most likely be eliminated on a specially equipped ship in neutral waters in the Mediterranean Sea.

The US Virginia-based MV Cape Ray is reportedly being readied for the task, undergoing modifications to have a chemical weapons neutralization system installed on it.

Several nations approached for help in disposing of Syria’s chemicals have reportedly turned the proposals down. According to the Wall Street Journal, Norway, Albania and Belgium have all declined requests for assistance.

So, last week the OPCW announced that it would seek companies ready to do “the treatment and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous organic and inorganic chemicals” from Syria’s chemical weapons program.

On Friday Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu revealed that as many as 35 private companies had expressed interest in destroying a part of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, of which 28 companies have submitted official requests.

These companies are tasked to eliminate nearly 800 tons of chemicals and 7.7 million liters of liquid waste.Damascus is obliged to complete disposal of all the estimated 1,200 tons of toxic agents by December 31, 2013, whereas the total annihilation of the Syrian chemical stockpile is set for mid-2014.

The OPCW, recent Nobel Prize winner, was given the task of destroying Syria’s chemical weapons when the US agreed not to use military force against Damascus. This came after the Moscow-advocated proposal of stripping Syria of its chemical weapons.

On Friday the OPCW declined Syria’s plea to convert some of its chemical weapons program sites into storage facilities.

Despite Syria’s full cooperation with the international effort to destroy toxic stockpiles, the request met with little OPCW support.

A European official told the New York Times, on condition of anonymity, that Syria’s request submitted last Tuesday basically “didn’t make a compelling case” and failed to persuade 41 member nations of the OPCW executive council.

Syria’s chemical weapons have been posing a considerable threat for well over two years now, the fear being that they could fall into the hands of radical Islamists fighting against the Syrian government.

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh urges youths to avoid Syria war.

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh urges youths to avoid Syria war.(PressTV).

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh has urged young Saudis not to join militant groups in Syria fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

According to al-Hayat newspaper, the Saudi mufti on Monday warned against the inflow of Saudi men into Syria, saying, “This is all wrong, it’s not obligatory.”

“These are feuding factions and one should not go there. I do not advise one to go there,” the mufti said.
Ash-Sheikh also criticized preachers who push Saudi young men into the war in Syria.
“Muslim should be fearful of God and not deceive young Muslims and exploit their weakness and lack of insight and push them to an abyss,” he said.

This is while Saudi Arabia has been supporting foreign-backed militants to change the balance of power on the ground since the beginning of unrest in Syria.

During a meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman in September, Riyadh guaranteed to continue its financial and logistic support for the militants, including al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front terrorists.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
The United Nations says four million more Syrians will be forced out of their homes in 2014 by the escalating conflict in the country.

Two million Syrians are expected to take refuge outside the country while another 2.25 million are predicted to be internally displaced next year.

UN Inspectors: "Syrian rebels (Alqaeda & Al Nusra?) may have obtained small amounts of chemical weapons."

UN Inspectors: "Syrian rebels (Alqaeda and Al Nusra?) may have obtained small amounts of chemical weapons."(TOI).

UN inspectors revealed on Monday that the Bashar Assad regime admitted to possessing 1,230 missiles ready to be loaded with chemical weapons, according to a British report.

The regime also confidentially admitted to holding some 1,300 tons of chemical weapons in its arsenal, including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin, according to a copy of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons report which was obtained by The Times of London.

The organization estimated, based on Syria’s declarations, that the regime actually possesses about 1,000 tons of Category 1 chemical weapons, which do not have peaceful uses, along with 290 tons of Category 2 substances, such as toxins with industrial uses, according to the London Times.

The UN report also suggests that Syrian rebels may have obtained small amounts of chemical weapons. It reveals that “Syrian authorities have reported finding two cylinders not belonging to them, which are believed to contain chemical weapons.”

Syria has sent the OPCW a plan for the full destruction of its chemical stockpile, but international inspectors overseeing that destruction have missed an early deadline in a brutally tight schedule after security concerns prevented them from visiting two sites linked to Damascus’ chemical program.

OPCW experts were to have checked all 23 of Syria’s declared chemical sites by Sunday, but the organization said Monday that inspectors have visited only 21 because of security issues. While there are no consequences for missing the deadline, the group’s failure to meet it underscores the ambitious timeline as well as the risks its inspectors face in carrying out their mission in the middle of Syria’s civil war.

The OPCW did not say who was responsible for the security problems, but the organizations’ director-general has said in the past that temporary cease-fires may have to be negotiated between rebels and forces loyal to Assad to reach some sites. The chemical weapons watchdog said it has not given up hope of gaining access to the two locations.

“Negotiations continue to try to get security guarantees so our inspectors can go in,” OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan said.Hmmm.....How long before these are used for a terrorist attack?

Russia: Syria’s chemical weapons must be destroyed inside country, resolution would include a reference to Chapter 7.

Russia: Syria’s chemical weapons must be destroyed inside country, resolution would include a reference to Chapter 7.(RT).

"As Russia publicly stated previously, we will be ready to help in guarding those facilities where work is being carried out," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

Russia hopes that Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) member states will “seriously consider the possibility of taking part in this process.”

However, Ryabkov stressed that there is no possibility that Syrian chemical weapons would be destroyed on Russia’s territory.

“There’s no doubt, we won’t do it,” Raybkov said. He added that the chemical weapons should be destroyed in Syria, because the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Damascus has just signed, prohibits any export of such weapons.

Ryabkov says it was possible to “effectively organize” the process on Syrian territory without changing the convention.  
At the same time, Ryabkov stressed that the question of Russia’s assistance will “depend on the situation in Syria.”

Ryabkov declined to comment on whether NATO would take part."As to NATO’s involvement in this work, I do not presume to comment, because I’ve had no opportunity to find out their attitude on this issue,” Ryabkov said.

Ryabkov’s comments come amid discussions among UN Security Council members about a resolution on the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.
The draft resolution to back Syria’s disarmament could be finalized “very soon,” possibly “within the next two days,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told AP earlier.
The five permanent members of the Security Council have yet to agree on a final text of the resolution.

One of the main points of disagreement between Russia and the West is whether the resolution should be written under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allows military and non-military actions to promote peace and security.

Gatilov said that the resolution would include a reference to Chapter 7, but there will be “no automaticity in engaging” in military or non-military actions without a separate discussion at the Security Council.

Syria to fulfil chemical weapons initiative if US ends threats: Al-Assad.

Syria to fulfil chemical weapons initiative if US ends threats: Al-Assad.(HD).

Syria will fulfil an initiative to hand over its chemical weapons only when the United States stops threatening to strike Syria, RIA news agency quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying in a television interview.

Al-Assad also said that Damascus will begin handing over information on its chemical weapons stockpiles one month after it joins a anti-chemical weapons convention.

"When we see the United States really wants stability in our region and stops threatening, striving to attack, and also ceases arms deliveries to terrorists, then we will believe that the necessary processes can be finalised," he was quoted as saying in an interview with Russian state-run Rossiya-24 channel aired on Sept. 12.

Al-Assad also said that Syria's decision to cede control of its chemical weapons was the result of a Russian proposal, not the threat of U.S. military intervention.

"Syria is placing its chemical weapons under international control because of Russia. The U.S. threats did not influence the decision," Interfax agency quoted al-Assad as saying.

Al-Assad also told Rossiya-24 that Syria would submit documents to the United Nations for an agreement governing the handover of its chemical arsenal, according to RIA news agency's report.

Rossiya-24 did not immediately air the interview and it was not clear when it was recorded.