REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DAMASCUS -- The Syrian foreign ministry on Tuesday warned the EU against using frozen Damascus assets to finance the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal, a mission led by world bodies.

The remarks came after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton revealed intention to use the money to support the ongoing process overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

"We decided to make sure that assets frozen in the EU could be invested into the OPCW fund to help with the removal and destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons," Ashton said.

The Syrian ministry said the move reflected the "hypocrisy and evasion" of some EU countries, which refused to unfreeze the assets for Syria to buy medicine and food.