10/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Germany is to destroy remnants of Syrian chemical weapons on its own soil, the German foreign and defence ministries announced in a joint press release on 9 January. “The government decided, following a request by the UN-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), that Germany is prepared to make a substantial contribution to the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons”, they said. “Germany has safe technology and a lot of experience with destroying remnants of chemical arms. It is sensible for us to use this capability for the sake of the international community and with it make a worthy contribution to the peace process”, explained Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen. Germany has already made €5 million available for the OPCW and has trained inspectors of the UN agency. (CG/transl.jl)