Secretary-General Welcomes Syria’s Offer to Continue Talks on United Nations

Mission Investigating Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the offer of the Government of Syria to continue discussions on the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic.  He remains seriously concerned about all allegations on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The head of the Mission, Dr. Åke Sellström, will travel to New York this week to update the Secretary-General on the status of his activities.  Pending its on-site access in Syria, the Mission has continued to monitor developments as well as to collect and analyse information made available by Member States.  The Mission has also conducted fact-finding activities in a neighbouring country.

The Secretary-General hopes that Syria will grant access to the Mission to conduct its comprehensive on-site investigation.  Cooperation from Syria in this regard will be essential for the Mission to establish facts in a credible manner regarding any use of chemical weapons in Syria.

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