Chemical weapons agency chief to meet Syrian officials in Damascus on Saturday

8/2/2025 7:00

The head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global non-proliferation agency, will meet Syrian officials in Damascus on Saturday, three sources familiar with the visit told Reuters.



Director General Fernando Arias was expected to meet interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, two of the sources said, in a sign of Syrian willingness to cooperate with the agency after years of strained relations under now-toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.



The sudden fall of the Assad government in December brought hope that the country could be rid of chemical weapons.



Following a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people in 2013, Syria joined the OPCW under a U.S.-Russian deal and 1,300 metric tons of chemical weapons and precursors were destroyed by the international community.



As part of membership, Damascus was supposed to be subjected to inspections. But for more than a decade the OPCW was prevented from uncovering the true scale of the chemical weapons program. Syria's declared stockpile has never accurately reflected the situation on the ground, inspectors concluded.