Watchdog to begin work
Experts from the world's chemical weapons watchdog will begin inspecting Syria's stockpile of toxic munitions by Tuesday, according to a draft agreement obtained by Reuters.
The draft, which is due to be voted on Friday night, calls on members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to make cash donations to fund Syria's fast-tracked destruction operation.
The 41-member executive council of the OPCW is due to discuss and vote on the proposal on Friday night. It needs a simple majority to pass, but decisions at the body are normally agreed upon by consensus.
It requests urgent funding to hire inspectors and technical experts to destroy what Western intelligence agencies believe is about 1,000 metric tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agents, built up over decades and spread over dozens of locations.
Reuters
(China Daily 09/28/2013 page7)
