BERLIN — German experts will help destroy chemical weapons removed from Syria under the auspices of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the government said Thursday.

The German Defense Ministry runs a facility near the northern town of Munster where gases produced in the destruction of mustard gas from chemical weapons will be neutralized, the government said in a statement, likening the initial material to industrial waste.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, tacitly acknowledging that the plan to destroy the weapons on German soil may prompt criticism from the opposition Green party and Germany’s strong environmental movement, stressed that the decision was made in part to maintain international credibility in addressing Syria’s civil war, particularly as foreign powers prepare for talks in Geneva this month to try to end the conflict.

“Nobody who takes international responsibility seriously can say no here,” he said.

Germany “has secure technology and long experience in destroying the remaining materials in chemical weapons,” Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.