"The government decided, following a request by the UN-Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), that Germany is prepared to make a substantial contribution to the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons," AFP cited Germany’s Foreign and Defense Ministries as saying in a joint statement on Thursday.
"The government is willing and able to destroy in Germany remnants created in the course of irreversibly neutralizing chemical weapons from Syria and which resemble industrial waste," the statement added.
According to the statement, state-owned company GEKA, based in the northern town of Munster, will handle the mission "in full compliance with environmental regulations."
Referring to the ongoing crisis in Syria, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, “The destruction of the chemical weapons could be the first, decisive step in defusing the Syria conflict."
On Wednesday, Sigrid Kaag, the head of the joint mission of the UN and the OPCW in Syria, called for the removal of Syria’s entire chemical weapons materials out of the country by the end of June.
She said that the UN Security Council expects that there will be no delay beyond June 30 for the elimination of all the materials.
On January 7, the OPCW said the chemical weapons materials were transported from two sites to the port city of Latakia for verification and then loaded onto a Danish vessel, which headed for international waters.
A group of Chinese, Danish, Norwegian and Russian vessels provide maritime security for the shipload.
The movement marks the start of the process that will see the transfer of chemical materials from Syria to locations outside its territory for destruction.
The removal was originally scheduled to take place before December 31, 2013, but was delayed due to security issues, logistical problems and poor weather conditions.
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