The following statement was issued today by National Security Council Spokesperson Ned Price.
Today
we mark an important achievement in our ongoing efforts to halt the
spread of weapons of mass destruction - the final steps of an
international effort to remove from
Libya and destroy nearly 500 metric tons of chemical weapons
precursors. The dual-use industrial chemicals removed from Libya in
recent days are the remains of the chemical weapons stockpile
accumulated by Muammar Qaddafi's regime.
The
removal was completed at the request of the Libyan Government of
National Accord, both to make responsible progress toward fulfilling
Libya's obligations under the Chemical
Weapons Convention and to ensure that the chemicals did not fall into
the hands of ISIL or other terrorists. The Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the international community
responded immediately to Libya's request for assistance,
recognizing the need to ensure these hazardous chemicals are destroyed
in an environmentally safe, secure, and verifiable manner, and do not
threaten the well-being of Libya's population.
We
thank the OPCW and the members of the international community for
uniting to take swift action to help eliminate the vestiges of Libya's
chemical weapons stockpile.
We appreciate the important role of Denmark, which has provided
maritime assets to safely remove the chemicals from Libya, as well as
the significant support provided by Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada,
and Finland. The United States helped organize and
support this group - the same coalition that enabled the removal of
Syria's declared chemical weapons in 2013 and 2014. These efforts
reflect our shared commitment to the OPCW's vision of ridding the world
of chemical weapons and preventing their use by state
and non-state actors alike.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
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