HAMILTON, Canada

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.

In an address to the council, Adedeji Ebo, director and deputy to the high representative for disarmament affairs, said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and Syria’s new administration have maintained engagement on eliminating remnants of the program developed by the previous regime.

"The OPCW and the Syrian Arab Republic have continued to engage on how to eliminate any remnants of the chemical weapons program developed by the previous government. Given the significant challenges to overcome, these efforts, I welcome the continued progress that has been made since the Council's last meeting (in September)," Ebo said.

Recalling the longstanding gaps that remain in Syria's original declaration, he said: "Since 2014, the OPCW technical Secretariat has not been able to confirm that the declaration submitted by the previous government was accurate and complete, because of the insufficient and inaccurate information it contained."

"The new Syrian government has been working with the OPCW technical Secretariat to obtain clarifications on the full extent and scope of the program developed by the previous government and ensure serious, long-term compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention," Ebo added.

Citing the OPCW's latest report, he stated that "in this month's report, the OPCW technical Secretariat reiterates that, in addition to the 26 declared chemical weapons-related sites, information made available to the OPCW suggests that there are more than 100 other sites that may have been involved in the previous government's chemical weapons-related activities."

Calling for political backing, Ebo stressed that "there is currently a critical opportunity to obtain long-overdue clarifications on the full extent and scope of the Syrian chemical weapons program and to rid the country of all chemical weapons."

"I once again urge the members of this Council to unite and show leadership in providing the support that this unprecedented effort will require," he noted.

Russia's deputy UN envoy Dmitry Chumakov criticized the OPCW's handling of the file, saying that Moscow supports closing the dossier but accused the watchdog of politicization.

"Over the course of more than 10 years, this body has politicized the matter and has contrived to drag out the process," he said, calling for the OPCW to "operate in an impartial way, professionally and to adhere to a depoliticized approach."

Meanwhile, US deputy envoy Jennifer Locetta welcomed recent steps by Damascus and the OPCW.

Locetta said Washington supports a continuous OPCW presence in Syria and noted progress over the past year, adding that "as we mark the one-year anniversary of a historic change in Syria, we are encouraged by the cooperation between the Syrian government and the OPCW."

She, however, warned that "many challenges remain, particularly with respect to deploying under challenging security conditions," and urged "all parties to do everything necessary to ensure the success of these deployments and minimize the proliferation threat to the region."