Syria pledges full cooperation with the chemical-weapons watchdog, the country’s permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Mohammad Katoub said on Wednesday.
Speaking before delegates at the 30th Conference of States Parties in The Hague, Katoub said Damascus seeks a “mutual and positive” cooperation with the OPCW, aiming to regain full membership rights and take its place as an active member of the international chemical-weapons community.
He detailed the steps taken by the Organization in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime early this year, including seven field deployments, inspections of 23 suspected sites, collection of more than 6,000 documents, interviews with at least nine witnesses, and the retrieval of over 30 samples.
Describing the cooperation as more than a procedural formality, Katoub said it represents “a major transformation” in Syria’s approach to chemical-weapons oversight.
He added that Damascus is pushing to restore its rights and privileges within the OPCW without waiting for the next annual session.
Earlier this week, Katoub said Syria today is a responsible state, committed to its international obligations, and is working to eliminate the remnants of chemical weapons spread across certain Syrian regions.
Speaking last Saturday on the first working day of the restored Syrian mission in The Hague, Katoub told the state-run channel Al-Ikhbariyah that the Assad regime continued to use chemical weapons for 12 years.
He said the most recent documented incident occurred on December 5, 2024, in the village of Khattab, in Hama countryside.
Katoub said Syria has begun seeking technical cooperation from OPCW member states to safely remove toxic remnants.
He confirmed that national teams have gathered information on around 100 suspected sites and have already inspected 23 of them, although more likely exist.
The representative added that multiple ministries — including Defense, Emergency Services, Health, Justice and a transitional justice authority — are now working to secure contaminated areas, including some damaged by Israeli strikes.
Damascus announced Katoub’s appointment late Friday, reactivating its mission to the OPCW after nearly a year of suspension.
However, Katoub said that Syria has not yet recovered its full privileges and remains without voting rights, though there is a pending recommendation for review by member states.
