The United States and France Take Coordinated Action on Global Procurement Network for Syria’s Chemical Weapons Program

The United States’ Office of Foreign Assets Control, along with the French government, froze the assets of dozens of individuals and companies which have provided support to the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) in Syria. The SSRC is believed to be responsible for the development and maintenance of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. The article discusses the reason for move to freeze the assets.

Outlook: Continued support of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime from outside of Syria’s borders is part of the reason the Syrian Government has been able to continue developing chemical weapons. The actions of the US and French government may make it more difficult for the Syrian government to continue producing chemical weapons. However, Al-Assad’s regime will still be able to get financial and technical support from other entities in other countries so for the time being there is still a very real threat of chemical weapons being built and used in Syria.