Albania rejects calls to host Syrian chemical arms destruction

Albania has rejected a U.S. request to host the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, saying it is ill equipped to handle the disposal of thousands of tons of toxic waste.

The announcement on Friday by the NATO member and staunch U.S. ally marks a setback for a Russian-American plan to get rid of Syria's sarin and other nerve agents deemed too dangerous to eliminate amid the country's civil war.

Negotiations went down to the wire, delaying scheduled discussions of the plan at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.

"It is impossible for Albania to get involved in this operation," Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a televised address to the nation. "We lack the necessary capacities to get involved in this operation."

Just two months into the job, Rama had faced a growing chorus of opposition and street protests against the request. The decision came on the Nov. 15 deadline for a detailed plan to be agreed on by the OPCW and Damascus.

"There will be no host country in the decision this afternoon," an OPCW source said. "But they (the U.S.) have alternatives." The source did not elaborate.

Syria in September agreed to destroy its entire chemical weapons stockpile in a deal brokered by Russia and the U.S.

President Bashar al-Assad accepted the plan after Washington threatened to use force in response to a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people in Damascus on Aug. 21.

Wire services