Syria
has sent the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons an
"initial declaration" outlining its weapons program, the organization
said Friday.
Spokesman Michael Luhan told The Associated Press
that the declaration is "being reviewed by our verification division."
The organization will not release details of what is in the declaration.
The
OPCW, which polices the treaty outlawing chemical weapons, is looking
at ways to fast-track moves to secure and destroy Syria's arsenal of
poison gas and nerve agents as well as its production facilities.
However,
diplomatic efforts to speed up the process are moving slowly. A meeting
initially scheduled for Sunday at which the organization's 41-nation
executive council was to have discussed a U.S.-Russian plan to swiftly
rid Syria of chemical weapons was postponed Friday and no new date was
immediately set. No reason was given for the postponement.
Under a
U.S.-Russia agreement brokered last weekend in Geneva, inspectors are
to be on the ground in Syria by November. During that month, they are to
complete their initial assessment and all mixing and filling equipment
for chemical weapons is to be destroyed.
All components of the chemical weapons program are to be removed from the country or destroyed by mid-2014.
Clashes near Turkish frontier:
Al-Qaeda-linked
fighters and a rival Syrian rebel group declared a truce on Friday
after two days of clashes near the Turkish frontier in which the
militant Islamists overran a border town, rebels said.
Fighters
from an al-Qaeda affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL), on Wednesday killed at least five members of the Northern Storm
Brigade, a rebel group that controls the border.
Clashes continued
on Thursday, highlighting deep divisions in the opposition that is
fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's
2-1/2-year-old civil war.
The fight in the town of Aazaz was one
of the most serious between ideologically moderate rebels and ISIL,
which is made up largely of foreign fighters. It prompted Turkey to shut
a border crossing.
A ceasefire agreement posted on the Northern
Storm Brigade's Facebook page was signed by both parties and negotiated
by the powerful Islamist Tawheed Brigade, which is based in Aleppo,
about 20 miles (30 km) south of Aazaz.
The pact called for an
immediate ceasefire, the release of prisoners and for a dispute over
control of the border post with Turkey to be referred to a rebel court.
SNC:
Syria's
main Western-backed opposition group has slammed al-Qaeda-linked gunmen
and their expanding influence in the country, saying the jihadis seek
to establish an Islamic state in Syria.
The SNC said the actions
of the al-Qaeda-linked fighters "counter the principals that the Syrian
revolution is trying to achieve."
The group also warned that the Islamic fighters are "strengthening their positions" in opposition-controlled areas.
US Secretary of State:
US
Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed his country's pledge to
cooperate with Russia in dealing with the confiscation and eventual
destruction of Syria's stores of chemical weapons.
In brief
remarks to journalists prior to a bilateral meeting with his Dutch
counterpart, Frans Timmermans, Kerry said he spoke on Friday morning
with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the need for continued
cooperation on the matter and also a strong UN resolution.
Iran’s Rouhani:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the people of the Middle East should be
allowed to decide their own fate, adding that he is ready to help in
Syria, where government forces and rebels have fought a civil war for 2
1/2 years.
On Thursday, President Rouhani published an opinion
piece in the Washington Post in which he announced his government's
readiness to help facilitate dialogue between the Syrian government and
the opposition.
He said Iranians had embraced his pledge to engage in constructive interaction with the world.
REUTERS/AP
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