India, July 10 -- The global chemical weapons watchdog on Thursday reinstated Syria's voting rights at the body, rewarding Damascus for "constructive engagement" with the organisation and a willingness to destroy previously hidden stockpiles of toxic munitions.

The decision by the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) underscores a new era of cooperation since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in 2024 and comes five years after Syria's voting rights were suspended as a punishment for the repeated use of toxic gas by Damascus.

It was the first time a member state had been hit with such a sanction.

The new openness has already produced results. In May, the OPCW announced that dozen...