Those currently in power in Syria should destroy chemical weapons: US

DAMASCUS (Agencies): The US said on Tuesday that it was the responsibility of those currently in power in Syria to destroy any chemical weapons that they may find.

“It is the responsibility of those who are taking the reins of power inside Syria first and foremost to secure and destroy any chemical weapons that they find in areas that they control,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told Al Arabiya in response to a question by Washington Bureau Chief Nadia Bilbassy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously said that the US wants the next government to “prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that any chemical or biological weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed.”

Armed opposition forces, spearheaded by “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS), toppled Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad earlier this week and a new interim government led by Mohammed al-Bashir was announced on Tuesday.

“You have seen HTS seize territory, and it certainly is quite possible that in the territory they’ve seized there are chemical weapon stocks. They may not have full inventory of those yet, of course. They’ve only been in control of Damascus for a couple of days,” Miller said.

He underscored the important role that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) currently plays in this situation telling Al Arabiya that it is OPCW’s “responsibility…to conduct verification efforts under its mandate – not any of the member-states, not the United States or other states, but the OPCW.”

As the situation develops in Syria, Israel has been conducting moves where it deployed forces to a demilitarized buffer zone in southwest Syria abutting the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week also said that the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel for almost 60 years, would perpetually remain part of Israel. The US in 2019 recognized that the Golan Heights are part of Israel.

Israel captured most of the mountainous plateau from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and has occupied it ever since, repelling a Syrian attempt at reconquest in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

When asked by Al Arabiya how the US will ensure that Netanyahu will not go against international law, Miller said: “We have long made clear that we want to see a two-state solution. When you talk to areas that have been under Israeli control since 1967, we want to see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. And you have seen us take a number of steps to try to advance that possibility, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Gaza situation

As the Gaza war continues, Miller said that although the US can legally speak with terror designated organizations, it didn’t do so with Hamas due to presence of better mediators.

The war, triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,208 people and involved the kidnapping of 251 hostages, has seen Israel’s retaliatory offensive result in at least 44,786 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to UN-reliable figures from Hamas health authorities.

Attempts to reach a ceasefire have so far failed.

“We have effective mediators who have much better relationships with Hamas than we do, for obvious reasons, and have the ability to effectively communicate with them,” Miller said.

“There was never any need for us to have those direct conversations when you have effective mediators like the governments of Qatar and the governments of Egypt.”