Syria chemical weapons bases' destruction to begin

UNITED NATIONS - The Associated Press

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari walks to a press conference microphone following a meeting on Syria in the U.N. Security Council. AP Photo

The destruction of 12 chemical weapons facilities in Syria is expected to start later this month.

Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, says the work should be complete by the end of June 2015.

Security Council diplomats were briefed Dec. 3 on international efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program. Some of them still express concern that Syria hasn't made a full declaration of its chemical weapons capabilities.

The U.N.'s mandate in the joint mission with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has ended. The global watchdog group in the Hague, Netherlands, is now handling the work, but some diplomats want direct reports to the council to continue.

Ja'afari rejects that idea, saying any outstanding issues are "purely technical."