Syria’s government said on Thursday it has nothing to hide from a UN team of chemical weapons inspectors that it expects to visit the war-ravaged country in the coming days.
The announcement comes a day after the United Nations said a team of inspectors led by Swedish arms expert Ake Sellstroem would soon depart for Syria after getting the green light from Damascus.
“The negotiations between Syria and the UN ended positively and the team is expected in Syria in the coming days,” a foreign ministry official said.
“There were no difficulties in the negotiations and Syria said it is ready to give the team all the facilities it needs to carry out its mission,” the official said, adding “Syria has nothing to hide.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman said the team would investigate the sites of alleged chemical weapons attacks for two weeks.
The mission has been delayed in the past over differences with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime over the scope of the probe into the alleged use of chemical arms in the country’s civil war.
The United Nations last month reached a framework agreement with the Syrian government on the mission but had been awaiting a final green light from Damascus.
