THE HAGUE — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he hoped the Crimea crisis would not harm cooperation with Russia on international efforts to destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
Syrian President Bashar Assad's government agreed to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal as part of a U.S.-Russian agreement negotiated after a chemical attack last August that killed hundreds of people around Damascus.
"All I can say is I hope the same motivations that drove Russia to be a partner in this effort will still exist," Kerry told reporters in The Hague, where he was due to attend a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations.
"This is bigger than either of our countries. This is a global challenge," Kerry said.
Syria has missed almost all deadlines agreed in the deal brokered by Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, whom he is due to meet for bilateral talks in The Hague. Syria is several weeks behind schedule in handing over its toxic stockpile.
Plans for a joint mission between Russia and NATO to protect a U.S. cargo ship that will destroy Syria's deadliest chemical weapons have been canceled amid increased tensions over Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Kerry, who made no further allusion to Crimea in his remarks, noted that the Syrians had also missed a March 15 date for destruction of a dozen production and storage facilities.
"We have some real challenges ahead of us in these next weeks. We in the U.S. are convinced that if Syria wanted to they could move faster," he added.
Kerry confirmed that about half of Syria's declared chemical weapons arsenal has been shipped out or destroyed within the country.
"We are just about at the 50 percent removal mark. That is significant but the real significance would only be when we get all the weapons out," he said.
Kerry was speaking at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, and was also due to meet the OPCW's Turkish head, Ahmet Uzumcu.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
