Overview

• The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) met with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani in Damascus for the first time since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.
• This visit marks a potential reset in relations, as the OPCW seeks to close Syria's chemical weapons file and ensure compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
• The OPCW previously found evidence of chemical weapons use by both Assad's regime and the Islamic State during Syria's 14-year civil war.
• Concerns remain about the remnants of Syria's chemical weapons program and potential contamination from recent Israeli airstrikes on former regime military sites.
• The OPCW aims to help Syria's new leadership safeguard and dismantle any remaining toxic stockpiles, following years of obstruction under Assad's government.