Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al Shaibani said he would take part in a meeting of the international chemical weapons watchdog in the Netherlands, nearly three months after Assad's ouster.

"Today, for the first time in Syria's history, I am attending the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague," Shaibani said in a statement on X on Wednesday.

"This participation reaffirms Syria's commitment to international security and honours those who lost their lives suffocating at the hands of the Assad regime," he added.

Assad was repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons during Syria's 13-year civil war, and there has been widespread concern about the fate of Syria's stockpile since his December 8 ouster.

More than a decade ago, Syria agreed to hand over its declared stockpile for destruction, but the OPCW has always been concerned that the declaration was incomplete and that more weapons remain unaccounted for.

Last month, OPCW chief Fernando Arias met President of Syria’s transitional government, Ahmed Alsharaa in a first visit to Damascus since new leadership took over the war-torn country.

The visit raised hope that Syria could be definitively rid of chemical weapons after years of obstruction to the organisation's work.

Arias said that his trip marked "a reset" and that "after 11 years of obstruction by the previous authorities, the Syrian caretaker authorities have a chance to turn the page".

The OPCW has expressed concern that valuable evidence may have been destroyed in the intense Israeli bombing of Syrian military assets that followed Assad's overthrow.