Russia says the date and cost of the destruction of Syria’s chemical arms agreed under a US-Russian deal will be announced in 2-3 months.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov made the remark on Saturday during his visit to the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
"Maybe in 2-3 months it will finally become clear how much time it will take, how it will be done technologically, and how much it will cost. However, no one can currently answer this questions specifically," Ivanov said.
He also stressed that he believes the diplomatic way of resolving the crisis in Syria is productive, saying, "The past week showed that diplomacy can achieve certain successes.”
The Russian official also cited Syria’s handover of information on its chemical arsenal to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), noting, "That shows clearly Syrian President Bashar Assad is fulfilling the agreements and is keeping his word," he added.
Russia and the US agreed on a deal in Geneva on September 14 to eliminate Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons by mid-2014.
Syria accepted the proposal, which was initially put forward by Russia as a way to head off Washington’s possible use of force against Damascus.
Washington had threatened to take military action against Syria over the unsubstantiated claim that the Syrian government carried out a deadly chemical attack near Damascus on August 21.
Damascus has repeatedly rejected the accusation.
By Press TV
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.