Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met with a delegation from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Damascus on Saturday. The delegation was led by Fernando Gonzalez, the OPCW Director-General.
Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani also attended the meeting. However, no details about the discussions were provided.
The meeting followed a request by the OPCW for Syria’s new leadership to secure chemical weapons sites. They also asked for the protection of documents related to the former regime’s chemical weapons programme.
Syria joined the OPCW on 13th September 2013. In the same month, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2118, which responded to a chemical attack by the Assad regime in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus. The attack led to significant loss of life.
In April 2021, OPCW member states voted to suspend some of Syria’s rights after investigations confirmed the use of chemical weapons in attacks on Al-Lataminah in Hama (March 2017) and Saraqib in Idlib (February 2018).
On 8th December, President Assad fled to Russia, ending nearly 25 years of Baath Party rule that began in 1963.
