Chemical weapon

At its annual conference the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) unanimously elected Bulgaria as a member of its Executive Council for the period 2019-2021, the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio. 

The Palestinians have joined the global convention to halt the spread of toxic arms, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced on Wednesday.

Vucic said that Serbia condemns the use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world, but that, as a territorially small country, it does not want to interfere in relations between great powers, the Presidency announced.

"Serbia is jealously protecting and guarding its military neutrality. Our country wants to talk to everyone and have a partner and friendly relationship," he said.

President Aleksandar Vucic said this in an interview for Rossiya-24 broadcaster, Sputnik is reporting on Friday.

The European Union strongly condemns the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK on 4 March 2018, that also left a police officer seriously ill. The lives of many citizens were threatened by this reckless and illegal act.

The United States is deliberately pushing back the deadline for the complete destruction of its own chemical arsenals, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Thursday in a commentary on the January 23 Paris meeting of the so-called International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons.

Russia vetoed on Friday a Japanese-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution to extend by one month an international inquiry into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, just a day after Moscow blocked a U.S. push to renew the investigation, Reuters reports.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the latest developments in Syria by phone on April 13 and agreed to support an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the use of chemical weapons in northern Syria.

"Bulgaria categorically condemns the use of chemical weapons and chemical substances having a similar effect as tantamount to a war crime.

Syria's government said it has turned over all its chemical weapons and adhered to an international treaty, after US accusations that it had carried out several chlorine gas attacks.