Syria conflict: US issues warning on chemicals plan
The UN says the 30-month Syrian conflict has claimed some 100,000 lives
The
US has said it will wait for details of a Russian proposal on Syrian
chemical weapons but warned it would not permit "delays and avoidance".
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the plan must be "swift
and verifiable" and warned its implementation would be "exceedingly
difficult".Syria has said it accepts the Russian plan to put the chemical weapons under international control.
The US, UK and France will table a UN Security Council resolution later.
The resolution will call on Syria to publicly declare that it has a chemical weapons programme, place it under international control and dismantle it.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the motion was designed to ensure that Russia's offer was "not a ruse".
Chapter 7 of UN Charter
- Action in response to threats to peace, breaches of peace and acts of aggression
- Article 41 enables Security Council to decide measures not involving armed force
- Can suspend economic and diplomatic relations as well as rail, sea and other communications
- If Article 41 measures are inadequate, Article 42 enables Security Council to take action by air, sea or land forces for international peace and security
"We need a proper timetable, process and consequences if it's not done," he said.
Mr Kerry said that if the UN were used as the vehicle for pursuing the Russian plan, it must not become a debating society.The resolution would be tabled under Chapter 7 of the UN charter covering possible military and non-military action to restore peace.
The US alleges that Syrian government forces carried out a chemical weapons attack in Damascus on 21 August, killing 1,429 people.
The Syrian government blames the attack on rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, in a conflict that the UN says has claimed some 100,000 lives.
'Hard look' Mr Kerry told a hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee the US was waiting for details of the Russian proposal, "but we're not waiting for long".
Chemical weapons plan timeline
5-6 Sept Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama discuss idea of placing Syria's chemical weapons under international control on sidelines of G20 summit, Putin spokesman saysMonday 9 Sept
07:30 GMT At press conference with Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Syria's Walid Muallem hints at chemical weapons plan
09:12 In UK, John Kerry says Mr Assad could avert an attack if he "turn[s] over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community"
14:00 In second press conference, Mr Lavrov says he has urged Mr Muallem to "not only agree on placing chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also on their subsequent destruction". Mr Muallem welcomes proposal, and it is prominently reported on Syrian state TV, suggesting Damascus is behind plan. Mr Obama says a military strike is "absolutely" on pause if Syria yields control of its chemical weapons
- Syria chemical attacks: What we know
- Syria's chemical weapons stockpile
He said: "President Obama will take a hard look at it. But it has to be swift, it has to be real, it has to be verifiable.
"We have to show Syria, Russia and the world we are not going to fall for stalling tactics."Mr Kerry urged Congress to stand by Mr Obama, saying the president was not asking for a declaration of war, simply for the power to show that the US "means what we say".
There have been few details so far of Russia's plan, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier in Moscow that it was "preparing a concrete proposal which will be presented to all interested sides, including the US... a workable, specific, concrete plan".
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who is in Moscow, was quoted by Russian news agency Interfax as saying: "We held a very fruitful round of talks with [Mr Lavrov] yesterday and he proposed an initiative relating to chemical weapons. And in the evening, we agreed to the Russian initiative."
This would "remove the grounds for American aggression", he said.
Mr Muallem added: "We are convinced that the position of those striving for peace is much stronger than that of those trying to fuel war."
The US Senate had been expected to vote this week on a resolution authorising military force, but the Russian plan has led to a postponement.
Mr Kerry said that "nothing has changed with respect to our request for the Congress to take action" but that Mr Obama might want to discuss the timing of a vote with congressional leaders.
Continue reading the main story
Syria's chemical weapons
- CIA believes Syria's chemical weapons can be "delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
- Syria believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, and also tried to develop more toxic nerve agents such as VX gas
- Syria has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)
- Press review: 'A way out for Obama'
- Western military options
Mr Lavrov said the Russian
initiative was "not a purely Russian initiative... it grew out of
contacts we've had with the Americans".
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Obama
discussed the idea on the sidelines of a G20 summit last week, Mr
Putin's spokesman said on Tuesday.Mr Obama's prime-time television address to the nation is still scheduled to go ahead on Tuesday evening, and the White House said he still planned to use it to argue that Congress should authorise the use of force if required.
Republican Senator John McCain, who has been an advocate of military action, said on Tuesday that a bipartisan group of senators was now working on a new resolution that would set Syria a specific period of time to turn over its chemical weapons.
Senator McCain told CBS he was "extremely sceptical" about the Russian proposal but that "to not pursue this option would be a mistake".
Opinion polls suggest that a majority of voters are opposed to Mr Obama's calls for intervention in Syria.
According to a survey by the Associated Press news agency, 61% of Americans want Congress to vote against authorisation for military strikes.
we have to pray for syria
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