The global chemical weapons watchdog is calling for inspections of Syria's chemical arsenal to begin by Tuesday.

The draft decision of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also authorises the body to inspect "any other site identified by a State Party as having been involved in the Syrian chemical weapons programme, unless deemed unwarranted by the Director-General."

That goes beyond usual practice as the organisation only inspects sites that have been declared by member states.

The draft, being discussed by the organisation's executive council on Friday night, calls for the destruction of all Syria's chemical weapons and equipment to be completed by "the first half of 2014."

The call came after the five permanent members of the deeply-divided United Nations Security Council have agreed on a resolution to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons.

The draft resolution's demands that Syria abandon its chemical stockpile and allow unfettered access to chemical weapons experts are legally binding. But if Syria fails to comply, the council will need to adopt a second resolution to impose measures under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows for military and non-military actions to promote peace and security.

Nonetheless, after two and a half years of inaction and paralysis, the agreement represents a breakthrough for the security council and rare unity between Russia, which supports Syrian president Bashar Assad's government, and the United States, which backs the opposition.

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