United Nations weapons inspectors say they have made progress toward dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons under a U.N. mandate that calls for the total elimination of the arsenal by mid-2014. U.N. spokesperson Martin Nesirky said the team is hoping to begin on-site inspections and the initial disabling of equipment next week if certain conditions are met.

Martin Nesirky: “The joint team from the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has made encouraging initial progress following the first working day of meetings with Syrian authorities. The documents handed over yesterday by the Syrian government look promising, according to team members. But further analysis, particularly of technical diagrams, will be necessary, and some more questions remain to be answered.”