Türkiye praises Syria’s efforts to address chemical weapons legacy

Türkiye's UN Permanent Representative Ahmet Yıldız praised Syria's determination to address the country's chemical weapons legacy in close coordination with the international community.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Syria's chemical weapons disarmament, Yıldız called the issue "one of the gravest legacies of the Assad era," but said there is now "genuine cause for optimism."

"We firmly believe that sustainable progress on the chemical weapons file can best be achieved through practical, gradual and well-coordinated cooperation with Syria, taking into account the realities on the ground," he said.

Yıldız welcomed the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Executive Council's July decision to restore Syria's rights and privileges within the organization, as well as recent agreements on the verification of chemical weapons facilities.

He also welcomed the deployment of an OPCW Technical Secretariat team to Syria to inspect the destruction of Category 3 chemical weapons and said Ankara looked forward to its report.

Yıldız acknowledged challenges in identifying, securing and preparing chemical materials for destruction, partly due to the clandestine nature of the former regime's chemical weapons program.

"These challenges have been further compounded by Israeli airstrikes targeting potential chemical weapons-related sites, following the fall of the former regime," he said.

He warned that such strikes could release hazardous materials, endanger civilians and destroy evidence crucial to establishing facts and ensuring accountability for past chemical weapons attacks.

Yıldız said Türkiye would continue supporting Syria's efforts to strengthen its technical and logistical capacity in line with OPCW standards.

"We reiterate our strong support for the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned efforts to address the chemical weapons file," Yıldız said, adding that the shared objective should be "a Syria that is permanently free of chemical weapons."