The comments by MEP Joseph Cuschieri (‘Don’t dump nukes in the Med.’, March 13) do not accurately reflect the plan for the neutralisation of Syrian chemical weapons.

As the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, noted in her response to the question posed by Cuschieri and his colleagues, “There will be no discharge of chemicals or their effluent after hydrolysis into the sea. Instead, they will be stored on the US vessel and transferred, together with the rest of the Syrian industrial chemicals, to selected commercial facilities for final destruction by incineration”.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons publicly affirmed that, during the entire removal and destruction process, no chemicals will be dumped in the sea and that destruction of the chemicals at sea will be in full accordance with international law.

Facilities in Finland and Germany specialized in the treatment of hazardous chemicals will dispose of the byproducts of the neutralization operation.

The US appreciates the EU’s support of the OPCW-UN joint mission.

The United States government is committed to making certain that this effort ensures the safety of people, protects the environment, OPCW verification procedures and is consistent with applicable standards.

The United States is proud of its contribution to this effort to protect the Syrian people and the world from the threat of chemical weapons and is honoured to be working alongside several EU member states to assist in meeting this global responsibility.