U.S calls on allies to help in destroying Syria's chemical weapons

Following Norway's rejection to help in destroying Syria's chemical arsenal, the U.S is reaching out to allies, including France and Belgium, to handle the destruction of a of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, a Belgian foreign ministry spokesman said.

"The Americans held an exploratory working brief in early October with Belgium, Norway, France and Albania to see what capacities each might have to treat chemical weapons," the spokesman told AFP.

"There was no formal request, it was more making contact to ask a country about its scope of options," he added.

Last month Norway turned down a U.S request to take on the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, arguing that it lacks suitable equipments and regulations to carry out the task.

The U.N. Security Council adopted its Resolution 2118 in September, demanding the destruction of Syria's entire chemical arsenal, estimated at about 1,000 tonnes, by June 30 next year.

The destruction operation is being supervised by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 

The next deadline is 15 November, by when the OPCW and Syria must agree to a detailed plan of destruction. 

"That is when international assistance will be necessary and this is why the United States is contacting its allies, and not just the initial four," the foreign ministry spokesman said.