United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (right) speaks to the media with Ake Sellstrom (left), the head of the UN chemical weapons investigation team, before their meeting April 29, 2013 at UN headquarters in New York. (File Photo: AFP)
Al Arabiya
A U.N. chemical weapons investigation team will leave to Syria in the coming two days to probe into allegations that chemical arms have been used in Syria's civil war, diplomatic sources told Al Arabiya on Thursday.
The sources said that the United Nations is still awaiting a letter from the Syrian government to allow the entrance of chemical weapons investigators.
However, in a meeting between the P3 countries (United States, United Kingdom and France) and the Syrian government, it was agreed that the U.N. probe is expected to enter Syria on Friday or Saturday, even if no letter is received.
The participants agreed that the inspection team must have full access to any of the 13 suspected sites where chemical arms have been reportedly used.
The P3 has set a condition that if the team’s movement was restricted by the Syrian government, the inspectors should announce this and leave Syria.
Earlier in July, Head of U.N. chemical weapons investigation team Ake Sellstrom flew from Paris to Beirut and was due to enter Syria.
Sellstrom's full team has not been allowed into the country due to diplomatic wrangling over how much access it will have.
Damascus is refusing to allow the team to go anywhere apart from Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia accused opposition fighters last March of using chemical weapons.
Both sides deny using chemical weapons.
The P3 countries said the probe seeks to visit two other sites in addition to Khan al-Assal to provide a comprehensive investigation.
A diplomatic source told Al Arabiya that the names of these sites are undisclosed yet.
The P3 told Damascus that the team will also cooperate with the Syrian opposition and report directly to U.N. headquarters in New York.
An announcement by the United Nations is expected on Friday with regard to the entry of Sellstrom and his team to Syria.
Source - english.alarabiya.net
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