Foreign Minister welcomes agreement on the destruction of chemical weapons

Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson welcomes the agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation on the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.

"The agreement gives us hope that chemical weapons will be put under control and concrete steps will be taken towards ending the civil war in Syria. We welcome that the United States and Russia will continue their good cooperation and we encourage them to work jointly to achieve a consensus in the United Nations Security Council on actions that will end the bloodbath in Syria" the Foreign Minister says. He says that the conflict in Syria has no military solution and that the Government of Iceland supports a peaceful resolution that ensures human rights, reform and democratic development for the people of Syria.

The Minister reiterates his condemnation of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which now has been confirmed by the United Nations inspection team. "The use of chemical weapons is a war crime and a grave violation of international law. Those who are responsible must be held accountable" the Minister says.

He says that the Syrian Government carries the main responsibility for the devastating war and that information which has been presented points to the Syrian Government being responsible for chemical attacks." The international community demands that firm actions are taken when international law is broken and such atrocities committed. The result of the UN inspection team proves that the developments of recent weeks and months call for urgent agreement by the Member States of the Security Council on response and actions" the Foreign Minister says.