Russia willing to make contribution to security of OPCW experts in Syria - Lavrov
MOSCOW. Sept 17 (Interfax) - Russia is prepared to make its contribution in order to ensure the security and safety of the sites where experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be working in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"The storage locations, which will be identified during the first stage of the experts' work, will require some international presence, I am sure about this. Russia is willing to take part in the procedures ensuring such security along the perimeters of the sites where the relevant work will be done by Syrian experts and OPCW experts," Lavrov said at a press conference following negotiations with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Provision of security is beyond the OPCW's jurisdiction, Lavrov said. "Definitely, the common practice is that the host country and the government of the relevant state are responsible for security of inspectors' work - and this is confirmed in the Russian-U.S. document," he said.
The statement following the negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also mentions that "other Syrian parties, that is, the opposition, also bear responsibility for the safe work by those who will come to dispose of the chemical weapons," he said.
"But it is also clear that some additional steps also need to be taken," Lavrov said.
