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Syrian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Sheibani made remarks at a joint press conference with Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Sabrina Dallafior on the process of closing the file related to Syria’s chemical weapons program, holding those responsible accountable and completing technical work.

Sheibani said eliminating chemical weapons was a moral and national responsibility toward the victims and stressed the importance of ensuring that such crimes are not repeated against future generations.

Sheibani said Syria had granted the OPCW access to facilities, records and witnesses, and that more than 100,000 official documents had been submitted to the organization. He said the process resulted in the destruction of 42 chemical aerial bombs under OPCW supervision last August, describing it as the first verified destruction on Syrian territory since 2014.

Sheibani said Syria regained all of its rights and privileges within the organization on July 9, adding that the development was achieved through an unprecedented consensus among member states. He said the process was advanced through the Syria-led seven-country “Breath of Freedom” team with Qatar’s support, and that work was continuing following decisions on accelerated destruction and restoration of rights.

Sheibani said the meeting discussed a roadmap that would allow progress toward the final closure of the chemical weapons file to be monitored, adding that they focused on a joint plan under which steps would be assessed through concrete stages of completion. Sheibani said they aimed to continue working with the OPCW Technical Secretariat ahead of next month’s Conference of the States Parties.

Sheibani said closing the file would first require justice for the victims and preventing similar crimes from recurring. He said 18 people, including senior officers, who are held responsible for chemical attacks during the previous regime, were in custody and had given statements before a competent judicial body.

Recalling that Syria had joined the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, Sheibani said holding those responsible for the use of chemical weapons accountable was a right not subject to a statute of limitations. Sheibani also said Syria’s permanent representative in The Hague, Dr. Mohammed Katoub, had personally witnessed the night of the 2013 chemical attack in Ghouta and was now leading diplomatic efforts to close the file and ensure justice.

A statement issued by Syria’s Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry also condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The statement alleged that the latest attacks targeted Abha and King Khalid International airports and caused hundreds of people to be killed or injured.

The statement said targeting civilian facilities violated international agreements and noted that Saudi Arabia’s security was one of the fundamental elements of the security of the Arab and Islamic worlds. It said Syria stood with Saudi Arabia and supported the legitimate Yemeni government in its efforts to restore sovereignty over all Yemeni territory.

The statement also alleged that Israel had been trying to destabilize Syria’s interior since December 8, 2024. It claimed that Israel had bombed infrastructure, occupied new Syrian territory along the southern border, displaced civilians and carried out arbitrary arrests. The Syrian administration called on Israel to take seriously the negotiations sponsored by the United States over the past year and a half and to reach an agreement that respects Syria’s security and sovereignty.

The statement said Syria had established a national institution specializing in transitional justice to ensure accountability for those responsible for crimes committed during the previous regime, and that progress had been made in this area through the security forces and the Ministry of Justice. It said work would continue due to the nature of the crimes and the complexity of the file.

The statement said mines, damaged areas and records concealed or destroyed by the previous regime made it difficult to uncover the full scope of the chemical weapons program, adding that examinations on the matter were continuing.

The Syrian administration also condemned what it described as Iran’s repeated attacks on the sovereignty of countries in the region, from Jordan to the Arab Gulf states. The statement also alleged that the fate of dozens of Syrian citizens detained by Israel remained unknown.

It was also alleged that Israel supported illegal armed militias in the city of Sweida and provided these groups with weapons and money to increase chaos in the region. The Syrian administration called on the international community to end initiatives that increase instability in the region, return to the 1974 agreement and give the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) the necessary space to implement the agreement.