(VOVworld) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Russia will host an international negotiation on destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal on Friday in Moscow.

UN chemical weapon experts (Photo: Reuters)

Speaking on the Voice of Russia, Mr. Ryabkov said the participants in the negotiation include experts from Russia, the US, Syria, the UN, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The plan was approved by the OPCW in the Hague, Netherlands, in November. Under the plan, the most toxic chemicals will be transported out of Syria prior to December 31^st and be destroyed by the middle of March, 2014. Other declared chemicals will be destroyed before June 30^th, 2014.