Watchdog: Damascus authorities want chemical weapons to be destroyed outside Syria

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The chief of the global chemical weapons watchdog is confirming that Syria wants its poison gas and nerve agent stockpile destroyed outside the country.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says its director-general, Ahmet Uzumcu, told a meeting Tuesday about details of a confidential plan Syria has submitted for destruction of its chemical arsenal.

Uzumcu told the OPCW's executive council that Syria's proposal that chemical weapons be destroyed in another country, "remains the most viable option."

It is not yet clear where outside Syria the destruction could happen. Norway has turned down a request to have the material destroyed on its territory.

Uzumcu says Syria cites "practical challenges" of destroying chemical weapons amid its civil war and "resource limitations" as reasons for shifting the destruction outside the country.