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EU welcomes suspension of Syria's rights in OPCW

BRUSSELS, April 21 (KUNA) -- The European Union Wednesday welcomed the decision adopted today by the 25th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention at the Hague suspending the voting rights and privileges of Syria for its failure to comply with the Convention.
"The Decision is a strong message by the international community against impunity for the use of chemical weapons," said EU High Representative Josep Borrell in a statement.
"The EU and its Member States consider that the Decision is an appropriate response by the Conference to the clear violation of the core principles of the Convention by the Syrian Arab Republic, more than seven years after the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) on the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons programme," he said.
The Syrian failure to respect its international obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention has been substantiated thorough investigations carried by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), he noted.
The EU has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab Air Force in Ltamenah in March 2017 and Saraqib in February 2018.
"We urge the Syrian Arab Republic to reveal the full extent of its chemical weapons programme and return to full compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. The European Union and its Member States will continue to work at the national and international levels addressing chemical weapons attacks and other atrocity crimes committed by the Syrian regime," said Borrell. (end) nk.ibi