NATO chief hails destruction of Syrian stockpile

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Thursday welcomed the adoption of the UNSC resolution for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons.

Rasmussen called for an international conference to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis. “This is a huge step forward,” he told his monthly press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Rasmussen urged the Syrian authorities as well as other parties involved to do all they can to assist the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, (OPCW), in “carrying out their important task for full elimination of all chemical weapons within the timeframe that has been outlined within the UNSC resolution.” He however expressed concern “to see that fighting continues in Syria. It is of course a matter of concern that maybe more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria.” “There is no military solution to the conflict in Syria. We need a political settlement and I hope that it would be possible to organise an international conference next month that would pave the way for a political settlement,” he added.

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