Chemical weapons agency chief to meet Syrian officials in Damascus on Saturday, sources tell Reuters

The head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global nonproliferation agency, will meet Syrian officials in Damascus on Saturday, three sources familiar with the visit told Reuters.

Director General Fernando Arias was expected to meet Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, two of the sources said, in a sign of political willingness to cooperate with the agency after years of strained relations under now-toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.

(Reporting Khalil Ashawi in Damascus; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Diane Craft)