Assad says $1 bn required to destroy chemical weapons stockpiles

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said it would cost nearly 1 billion dollar to get rid of chemical weapons stockpiles as agreed under a diplomatic solution by Russia and the United States last week.

Assad agreed to dispose of its chemical weapons arsenal, but insisted that his forces were not responsible for a chemical weapons attack outside Damascus on August 21.

He said the process will take more than a year as it was technically complicated to destroy the stockpiles of chemical weapons.

Assad further added that the process will be very detrimental to the environment and called on American administration to take the responsibility for release of toxic material.