THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog on Thursday reinstated Syria's voting rights at the body, rewarding Damascus for “constructive engagement” with the organization and a willingness to destroy previously hidden stockpiles of toxic munitions.
The decision by the executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons underscores a new era of cooperation since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in 2024, and comes five years after Syria’s voting rights were suspended as a punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas by Damascus. It was the first time a member state had been hit with such a sanction.
The new openness has already produced results, In May, the OPCW announced that dozens of chemical bombs and rockets left over from Assad's rule had been found in the country as previously undeclared weapons sites were opened to inspectors.
The OPCW’s executive council also approved plans for destroying some of that recently declared stockpile at a site in Al Qutayfah, 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of the capital, including materials used to make a nerve agent.
The decisions “reflect the tangible progress achieved through continued cooperation and constructive engagement between the Technical Secretariat and the Syrian Arab Republic,” supported by other member states, OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said in a statement.
The move comes a day after U.S. authorities announced that Washington will remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former insurgent who led the offensive that unseated Assad, seeks to rebuild Syria and restore its long-shattered ties with the West. He also has pledged to destroy any remaining chemical weapons from the Assad era.
When Syria joined the OPCW in 2013, under pressure from the West over alleged poison gas attacks, Assad's administration claimed chemical weapons were present at 26 locations in the country, but the watchdog has said it has reason to believe Syria had an additional 100 sites.
FILE - President of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa walks towards 10 Downing Street to meet Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, on March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones on Thursday hit more Russian oil facilities and set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot air defense systems.
Ukraine's strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia has triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and fuel rationing reported in multiple regions and drivers waiting for hours to fill their tanks.
Early Thursday, a Ukrainian drone strike triggered a fire at an oil depot in the city of Tver in western Russia, according to acting regional Gov. Vitaly Korolyov.
And in the southern Stavropol region, Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov said oil reservoirs has been set ablaze by Ukrainian drones in Vyazniki. He said the authorities ordered the evacuation of residents of several apartment buildings near the facility as the fire expanded.
In the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers ablaze, according to Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar, who said that one of the ships was still burning and the crews were evacuated. The attack was the latest in a series of strikes on oil tankers in the area in recent days, part of Ukraine efforts to cut fuel supplies to Russia-occupied Crimea.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 73 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday until early Thursday.
Ukraine's Air Force said that Russia fired 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine last night. While 72 drones were jammed or intercepted, 19 drones and both missiles inflicted damages at 13 locations, it said.
During Wednesday's meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems to counter missile attacks from Russia in their more than four-year war, a huge coup for Kyiv which has long requested the technology.
The tone of their meeting was a markedly different from an earlier, acrimonious encounter at the White House in February 2025 when Trump berated Zelenskyy. On Wednesday, he praised the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to reach a deal to ending the war, saying he has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective.”
People mourn over the coffin of Oleksandra Bardadym, 20, who was killed in Russia's recent missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Khomenko)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks out from his car window as he arrives for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Metin Aktaş, Pool Photo via AP)
People look at a burning private enterprise following Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
