Russia's Permanent Mission to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced it welcomed the political consensus within the organization to close Syria's chemical weapons file.
The OPCW Executive Council, at its meeting last week, recognized the progress Syria has made on its chemical weapons file and announced the restoration of the country's rights and privileges under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
In a statement to RIA Novosti, the Russian Permanent Mission said, 'Russia welcomes the political consensus reached at the OPCW on closing Syria's chemical file.'
However, the mission stressed that states parties to the CWC have differing views on how to implement this decision in practice. The statement said, 'Some believe that a consistent approach should be followed, with the OPCW Technical Secretariat working within its mandate and in line with decisions of the organization's governing bodies. Others believe that swift action is needed, taking into account the difficult situation the Syrian Arab Republic has faced over the past decade.'