Russian Navy Pitches In To Remove Chemical Weapons From Syria
MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russian naval escort ships are helping out in an international operation to remove chemical weapons stockpiles from war-torn Syria, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.
Russia’s naval task force in the Mediterranean Sea is working with other nations, which include the United States, to evacuate the stockpiles from the Syrian port of Latakia, Shoigu said. The first batch of chemical weapons left Syria on January 7 aboard a Danish cargo vessel, escorted by the Russian nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great and a Chinese patrol ship.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow said Tuesday that this was the first time that the Russian and Chinese navies had cooperated in an operation.
Syria’s most dangerous chemicals, which include 20 tons of mustard gas, are scheduled to be removed from the country by March 31 and destroyed by the end of June as part of a cooperative effort to defuse international tensions related to its ongoing civil war.
The original deadline to remove the stockpiles by December 31 was pushed back because of security concerns in the Middle Eastern country, technical issues and poor weather conditions.
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http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140114/186514956/Russian-Navy-Pitches-In-To-Remove-Chemical-Weapons-From-Syria.html