Albania will not allow the destruction
of Syrian chemical weapons on its soil, the country's prime minister says.Edi
Rama was responding to days of protests in Tirana and other cities.The Balkan
nation recently destroyed its own chemical stockpile, and the US had requested
that it host the dismantling of Syria's arsenal.
Despite the
move, the global chemical arms watchdog said late on Fridayit had adopted a
final road map to destroy Syria's chemical arms by mid-2014.
Under a deal
brokered by Russia to remove the weapons, it had been agreed that they should
be destroyed outside the country if possible.
However, Mr
Rama said in a televised address: "It is impossible for Albania to get
involved in this operation."
The prime
minister attacked the Albanian opposition for having criticised his
government's willingness to consider the idea.
Albania and
chemical weapons
The ex-communist state declared possession of 16 tonnes of mustard gas to the OPCW
It completed
destruction of the declared weapons in July 2007
When further
chemical agents were discovered in September 2011, they were destroyed within a
year
source: OPCW
Q&A: Syrian disarmament deal
The US embassy
in Tirana said in a statementthat it respected the government's decision,
adding that America "will continue to work with allies and partners as
well as the OPCW and the United Nations to ensure the elimination of Syria's
chemical weapons programme".
A key meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) - the international watchdog supervising the destruction - had adjourned for several hours in The Hague, awaiting Albania's decision.
The deadline for accepting the detailed plan was to run out on Friday.
After a meeting of the OPCW's 41-member executive council in The Hague. the organisation announced that it had approved the plan to transport Syria's chemical weapons stockpile outside its territory no later than 5 February 2014, with all chemical materials to be destroyed by 30 June 2014.
/bbc news
