EU concerned over failure to renew mandate of CW inspection in Syria

BRUSSELS, Nov 24 (KUNA) -- The EU lamented Friday the failure to reach an agreement on the renewal of the mandate of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) before it expired on 17 November, saying it undermines attempts to ensure accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
"This damages efforts to consolidate the international chemical non-proliferation regime. It is of grave concern to the European Union (EU). In this regard, the EU regrets the Russian vetoes," said EU High Representative Federica Mogherini in a statement.
The EU foreign policy chief encouraged the UN Security Council to continue working to find an agreement to continue international investigations to attribute responsibility for chemical weapons use based on key principles laid out in UN Security Council Resolutions 2235 (2015) and 2319 (2016).
She noted that the EU has repeatedly taken action against any confirmed use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Armed Forces and Da'esh, by imposing sanction and will continue to do so. (end) nk.mt