U.S. demands Syria withdraw as chair of anti-chemical weapons forum

"The United States on Friday called on the Syrian government to step down as president of the UN-backed Conference on Disarmament scheduled for next week, citing the regime's repeated use of chemical weapons on civilian targets during the years-long civil war.

US diplomats said during a UN debate Friday that Bashar Assad's government 'has neither the legitimacy nor moral authority' to lead global disarmament efforts. French and British officials also objected to Damascus serving as head of the Conference, with one diplomat from Paris calling the appointment 'particularly cynical.'
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'Syria's presidency will undermine this body and demean this institution, and this is something that should not happen,' one American diplomat said.
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Later on Friday, UN chief Antonio Guterres told reporters that he did not have the power to override the rotation system that selected Syria to chair the 2018 conference, but said he hoped Syria's involvement would not have a 'negative impact' on international disarmament efforts..."