Nebenzya comments on expansion of OPCW mandate

The decision of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to expand its mandate will wield bad impact on the discussions of Syria’s problems, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya said.

He recalled that Moscow had from the very beginning raised objections to the idea of vesting powers of this kind in the OPCW’s technical secretariat, since the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons did not contain the relevant provisions.

Nebenzya said that more importantly, the proposed expansion of powers would clearly mean the diminishing of ability of the UN Security Council, the only legitimate agency, to establish fact, TASS reported.