UNSC okays plan to rid Syria of chemical weapons

United Nations, Oct 11: The UN Security Council (UNSC) Thursday approved a plan proposed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon to eliminate Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.

The British and Russian UN ambassadors, who were in a closed- door council consultations, said that the 15 council members approved Ban's plan to set up a joint mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN to rid Syria of chemical weapons in accordance with the latest Security Council resolution 2118, unanimously adopted Sep 27, Xinhua reported.

In an unusual, if not precedent-setting action, the council president, Ambassador Agshin Mehdiyev of Azerbaijan, was authorised to draft a letter of approval to the secretary-general, both the British and Russian envoys said.

All the council members support Ban's proposal for the joint mission and the plan "should be approved by letter soon," British UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said in a tweet from the council chambers.

IANS