A chemical weapons watchdog says it has received a partial declaration from Syria of its chemical stockpile - the beginning of a process for the containment of Syria’s arsenal.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says the Syrian government submitted a partial inventory on Thursday.

How Are Chemical Weapons Destroyed? ​​In a VOA interview Friday, spokesman Michael Luhan says the group expects to receive additional information by this weekend.

U.S. and Russian officials agreed last weekend on a framework for ending Syria’s chemical weapons program that included a one-week deadline for Damascus to submit a comprehensive list of such weapons.

Interior View: Typical explosives destruction system site layout. ​​The plan also calls for Syria to eliminate or remove all chemical weapons material and equipment by mid-2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Syrian non-compliance could lead to a request punitive action in the U.N.

Luhan said the next step was supposed to be a Sunday meeting of the OPCW to discuss plans regarding Syria’s chemical weapons. However, Luhan said Friday that the meeting had been postponed indefinitely.

A U.N. report released earlier this week showed overwhelming evidence that chemical weapons were used in an attack near Damascus, last month. However, the report does not assess blame.

The U.S. and other Western powers have said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out the attack. The U.S. says the attack killed more than 1,400 people.

A high-ranking Syria’s government official said it will call for a cease-fire at a proposed United Nations-backed peace conference aimed at ending the country’s civil war.

Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil told The Guardian the conflict has reached a stalemate, saying neither the government nor the rebels are strong enough to defeat each other.

He told the British paper the Syrian government would also propose an “end to external intervention” and the start of a “peaceful political process” at the long-delayed conference in Geneva.

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Syria’s main Western-backed opposition coalition is condemning the Islamist extremists within the rebel ranks. The Syrian National Coalition says the behavior of the al-Qaida-linked fighters is “contrary to the Syrian revolution.”

The group commented in a statement on Friday, a day after Syrian rebels reached a truce with Islamist extremists following clashes for a key border town.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL seized the town of Azaz, which lies along the border with Turkey, following a battle against other Syrian opposition forces.

Late Thursday, the two sides agreed to observe a cease-fire. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: Economy and Finance