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 The deliveries, in two shipments this month to the northern Syrian
port of Latakia, totalled 4.1 percent of the roughly 1,300 tonnes of
toxic agents reported by Damascus to the Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the sources, who spoke
on condition of anonymity.
"It's not enough and there is no sign of more," one source briefed
on the situation said.
The internationally backed operation, overseen by a joint
OPCW-United Nations mission, is now 6-8 weeks behind schedule.
Damascus needs to show it is still serious about relinquishing its
chemical weapons, the sources told Reuters.
The issue is to be discussed at a meeting of the OPCW's executive
council on Thursday in The Hague, a senior U.S. State Department
official told Reuters.
The meeting will focus on the lack of progress and confirm that no
more than 5 percent of the chemical weapons material has been
removed from Syria, the official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
Failure to eliminate its chemical weapons could expose Syria to
sanctions, although these would have to be supported in the U.N.
Security Council by Russia and China, which have so far refused to
back such measures against President Bashar al-Assad.
The deal under which Syria undertook to eliminate its chemical
arsenal stopped the United States and its allies from launching
bombing raids to punish Assad for a chemical attack last August and
made clear the limits to international action against him.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested in a report to the
Security Council this week that shipments had been unnecessarily
delayed and urged the Syrian government to speed up the process.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged his Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov during a phone call on Wednesday to "press the
(Syrian) regime to move forward with the necessary steps on the
chemical weapons process," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki
told a briefing.
MESSAGE TO SYRIA
A senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
that the U.N. Security Council will be briefed on the issue by
mission head Sigrid Kaag next week.
"All the indications are, and the secretary-general's report makes
clear, that actually the regime has been sort of stalling on the
implementation of the agreement," the diplomat said.
"It will be important what Sigrid Kaag says about whether she thinks
these delays are deliberately politically motivated and why or
whether there's any truth in the weather, the security and those
more technical aspects," he said.
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Another senior Western diplomat said the Syrian government is
"teasing us" by dragging its heels but doing enough to avoid being
declared in non-compliance with its obligation to destroy its
chemical weapons program.
The second diplomat added that Russia would never permit the U.N.
Security Council to declare Assad's government in non-compliance
with its duty to eliminate its poison gas program.
"The Russians will never accept it," the second diplomat said,
adding that Western powers were also reluctant to do anything that
could be seen as undermining the Geneva peace talks between Assad's
government and the opposition.
"Our impression is that they (Assad's government) are managing this
issue in parallel with the Geneva discussion," he said. "Everything
is blocked so they are blocking on the chemical weapons to remind
us" of their power on this issue.
Syria, where civil war has killed well over 100,000 people and
forced millions to flee, has blamed delays on security obstacles. It
said the mission could not be safely carried out unless it received
armored vehicles and communications equipment.
A source briefed on the situation said: "Yes, it's true there is a
war, but have you ever heard of a civil war without security issues?
They have all the necessary means they need for transportation. Now
they need to start shipping the chemicals out."
Under a deal agreed by Russia and the United States after the August
21 sarin gas attack, Syria vowed to give up its entire stockpile by
mid-2014. The rocket attacks in the outskirts of Damascus killed
hundreds, including women and children.
Eradicating Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, including sarin,
mustard gas and VX, requires massive foreign funding and logistical
support.
The bulk of the most toxic substances are to be destroyed on the
Cape Ray, a U.S. cargo ship now en route to the Mediterranean that
will be loaded with the chemicals at an Italian port. The remainder
will go to several commercial waste processing facilities, including
in Britain and Germany.
(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York and Lesley
Wroughton in Washington; editing by Giles Elgood and Eric Walsh)
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