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

The head of the world's chemical weapons watchdog met Syria's new leader Saturday, in a first visit to Damascus since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, who was repeatedly accused of using such weapons during Syria's 13-year civil war.

The head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said on Saturday meetings he had with Syria's new leaders in Damascus were a first step towards ending years of strained relations on chemical arms under Bashar al-Assad.

A delegation from the global chemical weapons watchdog arrived in Damascus Saturday to meet with Syria’s new leaders for the first time since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had found evidence of repeated use of chemical weapons by Assad’s government during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war.

In a significant move towards eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons programme, the head of the UN-backed international watchdog dedicated to ending the scourge has been visiting Damascus, together with a high-level delegation.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met in Damascus on Saturday with a delegation from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), led by its director-general, Fernando Gonzalez.

The fate of the country’s stockpile of toxic chemicals spurred an emergency meeting by the OPCW days after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.