SYRIA warned Western states today against continuing to politicise the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), alleging that it is being used as a “weapon of war” in the region.

Bashar al-Jaafari, Damascus’s permanent representative at the United Nations, told a meeting of the security council that the global chemical weapons watchdog was being used in “political blackmail to serve the agenda” of those seeking regime change in Syria.

“Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 and has engaged in serious and constructive co-operation with the UN relevant mechanisms and OPCW and its technical secretariat, which has resulted in helping Syria to get rid of its chemical stockpile, substances and production facilities,” Mr Jaafari said.