New york: A senior UN disarmament official on Thursday urged the Security Council to unite behind efforts to fully dismantle Syria's chemical weapons program, emphasizing the "critical opportunity" to make "long-overdue" progress.

According to Anadolu Agency - English, Adedeji Ebo, director and deputy to the high representative for disarmament affairs, highlighted the ongoing engagement between the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and Syria's new administration to eliminate remnants of the chemical weapons program developed by the previous regime. Ebo welcomed the progress made since the Council's last meeting in September.

Ebo recalled the longstanding gaps in Syria's original declaration from 2014, noting that the OPCW technical Secretariat has been unable to verify its accuracy due to insufficient information. He emphasized the new Syrian government's cooperation with the OPCW to clarify the full extent of the program and ensure adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Citing the OPCW's latest report, Ebo mentioned that besides the 26 declared chemical weapons-related sites, there are over 100 other sites potentially involved in the previous government's activities. He called for political backing to seize the opportunity to clarify the program's scope and eliminate chemical weapons from Syria.

Russia's deputy UN envoy Dmitry Chumakov criticized the OPCW's handling of the matter, accusing the watchdog of politicization and urging it to operate impartially. Meanwhile, US deputy envoy Jennifer Locetta praised the cooperation between Damascus and the OPCW, acknowledging progress but cautioning about the challenges in deploying under difficult security conditions. She urged all parties to ensure successful deployments and minimize regional proliferation threats.