Albania affirms: No to receiving Syrian chemical waste

Albania on Saturday officially confirmed rejecting a request by the US Administration to dump chemical waste collected by international teams in Syria on the European country territories. Tirana Radio, monitored here, quoted an official statement as saying Prime Minister Edi Rama's decision to receive remnants of Syrian chemical materials, as prelude to disposal, was a "sovereign resolution issued for serving interests of the country and in line with desire of the Albanian people who demonstrated against the American request." Albania, however, is keen on maintaining its relations with the US, the statement released by the Albanian Government asserted. In the past, the country had accepted American queries to host more than 200 members of (the Iranian opposition group) Mujahideen e-Khalq and inmates of Guantanamo detention camp. Albania has witnessed public protests amid reports Washington is seeking its approval to receive and bury the hazardous waste in the country. The Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons says Syria's stockpile should be moved out of the country before the risky process of destroying the arsenal is carried out. Syria's government, which has submitted a detailed disarmament plan to the OPCW, shares that view. But the search for a country willing to receive the weapons has so far not been successful. Syria's chemical stockpile includes poison gas and the deadly nerve agent sarin