Syria Rejects International Organization's Decision to Ban Chemical Exports

The Syrian Foreign Ministry today rejected the member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' decision to limit chemical exports to Syria. A statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry stated that "Syria rejects the decision adopted at the 28th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention last Thursday." The statement added that "the vote of 69 countries out of 193 parties to the convention in favor of the resolution exposes the deception of Western countries and confirms that this decision reflects Western animosity towards a developing country." On Thursday, the majority of the organization's member states voted for "collective measures" to prohibit the transfer of certain chemical materials and equipment used in their manufacture to Syria. The resolution indicated "Syria's continued possession and use of chemical weapons" and its "failure to provide an accurate and complete declaration regarding them, as well as the destruction of all undeclared chemical weapons and their production facilities in its possession."