Norway mulls taking bulk of Syria chemical arsenal

Stavanger(Norway): Norway says it is weighing whether to take the bulk of Syria`s chemical weapons stockpile for eventual destruction.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ragnhild Imerslund says that the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which are working together to eliminate the deadly arsenal, would like to see the entire stockpile destroyed in one place. Imerslund told a news agency on Tuesday that Norway is refusing to handle weapons-ready material though the country`s newly installed center-right government is considering taking mustard gas and precursor chemicals that could be mixed to make more weapons. The ministry says that, according to the latest UN estimates, Syria has 50 metric tons of mustard gas and some 300-500 metric tons of chemicals used to make deadly nerve agents.