U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said he welcomed an offer by the Syrian U.N. envoy "to continue discussions" on the U.N. mission to investigate alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. Earlier on Monday, Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told reporters in New York City that he was inviting top U.N. disarmament and chemical-weapons inspectors to Damascus for talks with the Foreign Ministry on investigating alleged chemical-weapons use. "The secretary-general welcomes the offer of the government of Syria to continue discussions on the United Nations mission to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic. He remains seriously concerned about all allegations on the use of chemical weapons in Syria," Ban's office said in a statement. "The secretary-general hopes that Syria will grant access to the mission to conduct its comprehensive on-site investigation. Cooperation from Syria in this regard will be essential for the mission to establish facts in a credible manner regarding any use of chemical weapons in Syria," the statement said.
