Progress Made in removing Syria’s Chemical Weapons, Secretary-General Says,

Commending joint mission’s ‘Steadfast Work’ in Challenging Circumstances

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

The Joint Mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations has informed the Secretary-General that further progress has been made towards the removal and elimination of Syrian chemical weapons programme.  A first quantity of priority chemical materials was moved from two sites to the port of Latakia for verification and was then loaded onto a Danish cargo ship today.

The Secretary-General welcomes the continuing progress in the international effort to eliminate the chemical weapons programme of the Syrian Arab Republic, as demonstrated by this latest achievement.

The Secretary-General once more commends the Special Coordinator and her team for their steadfast work in challenging circumstances.

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For information media • not an official record