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Bulgaria allocates funds for Syrian chemical weapons destruction

15 January 2014 23:09 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Bulgarian government on Wednesday allocated 200,000 BGN (140,000 U.S. dollars) for the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

According to the government, the Balkan country will send the money to the special trust fund of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), established to finance activities for the complete destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons outside Syria.

Bulgaria's participation in the trust fund is an expression of the country's commitment to the efforts of the international community in finding a solution to the conflict in Syria, the government said.

The UN Security Council and OPCW executive council decided that Syria's chemical weapons would be transported outside its territory for destruction in the safest and soonest manner, no later than June 30 this year.

cnï¿½ rï¿½ï¿½ (ï¿½ itiative to "study ways (to have) a serious dialogue that would result in a new political framework that shapes a comprehensive solution".

Neither side elaborated on the substance or result of the meeting.

Crown Prince Salman, who was named first deputy prime minister last year, had pushed for the reconciliation talks and is seen to be spearheading a more reformist line within the Bahraini ruling family.

The crown prince's court confirmed the meeting on its Twitter account, posting a photo of the prince talking to al Wefaq leader with other Bahrainis looking on.

Prince Salman also met other independent political figures, members of parliament and the country's consultative Shura council, according to his Twitter account.

Home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has been in political limbo since February 2011 when the Sunni-led government quelled mass protests led by Shi'ites.

Against the backdrop of frequent small-scale civil unrest, the opposing sides began talks last year on a new blueprint to run the country of 1.3 million people. But the dialogue unraveled after the opposition boycotted meetings in September in protest at the arrest of one of its senior leaders.

Bahraini Shi'ites complain of discrimination at the hands of the ruling Sunni minority in jobs, housing and education - an accusation the Manama government denies.

Shi'ites are demanding a constitutional monarchy with a government chosen from within an elected parliament.