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U.S. Says Syria Delaying Chemical Disarmament
(Wall Street Journal) Naftali Bendavid and Adam Entous - The U.S. on Thursday blamed Syria's Assad regime for intentionally delaying efforts to remove chemical arms from the country for destruction, suggesting that the goal of liquidating the arsenal by midyear is in jeopardy. Robert Mikulak, the U.S. representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), told the agency's executive council that the process had "seriously languished and stalled." Just 4% of Syria's most dangerous chemicals have been removed, he said, despite a Dec. 31, 2013, deadline for removing all of them. "There should be no doubt that responsibility for the lack of progress and increasing costs rests solely with Syria," said Mikulak. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday said he made a personal appeal to his Russian counterpart to bring the Assad regime back into compliance.