A stockpile of Syrian chemical weapons has been destroyed aboard a US ship, US President Barack Obama says.
"Today we mark an important achievement in our ongoing effort to counter the spread of weapons of mass destruction by eliminating Syria's declared chemical weapons stockpile," he said in a statement.
He called the move a "major milestone" in international efforts to destroy the Al-Assad regime's chemical weapons.
A team aboard the M/V Cape Ray in the Mediterranean Sea, which has been dismantling chemical weapons, had completed its work ahead of schedule, Obama said.
The development advances the international goal of ensuring "that the Assad regime cannot use its chemical arsenal against the Syrian people", Obama said.
It sends a clear message that the use of these "abhorrent weapons has consequences and will not be tolerated by the international community", he said.
The US would continue to monitor Syria to ensure it follows through on a pledge to destroy chemical weapons production facilities.
Damascus must also address concerns about allegations of further chemical weapons use and questions about omissions and discrepancies in Syria's declarations to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the US said.
Last week, the OPCW had said a sarin stockpile had been destroyed on the ship and work was underway to neutralise other weapons.
The OPCW said in July that all 1,300 metric tonnes of toxic chemicals removed from Syria had been delivered to destruction sites outside the country. The weapons were being destroyed aboard the US ship and at facilities in Finland and Germany.
The chemical weapons disarmament plan for Syria was brokered in September 2013 by the United States and Russia.
It was a rare diplomatic success in years of failed international efforts to end the bloody civil war.
The destruction of the chemical weapons comes one year after an attack that killed more than 1,000 Syrian civilians, including many children, and prompted international outrage.
Obama had threatened military action, before reaching an international deal to destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles.
Share
