Chemical weapons experts are on track to dismantle Syria's chemical arsenal, an official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the group overseeing the process, says.
Grace Asiwartham, the watchdog's deputy director general, said on Wednesday that disarmament experts remained on schedule to eliminate Syria's declared chemical stockpile by a mid-2014 deadline.
"Due to the cooperation of Syrian officials and member states, I am pleased to say that we remain on pace ... disposing of Syria's declared chemical weapons stockpiles and capabilities," Asiwartham said on the sidelines of a regional summit on non-proliferation in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
After less than a month in Syria, teams from the OPCW and the UN had last week inspected 22 out of the country's 23 disclosed chemical weapons sites.
The experts now possess a "clear idea" of the size and scope of operations required to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons programme, according to Asiwartham.
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Asiwartham underlined the growing dangers facing inspection teams in wartorn Syria, noting that UN-OPCW inspectors were prevented from accessing one of the declared sites near the central city of Homs due to unrest.
"There are growing dangers facing our experts, but, due to UN security arrangements, they are and will continue to perform their brave mission."
Asiwartham's comments come two days ahead of a meeting of the OPCW executive council to review a report compiled by inspection teams and to take a decision over Syria's disarmament process.
She expressed hope that member states would reach a consensus on the framework and scope of the disarmament and disposal phase, expected to commence in December.
