Syria"s Chemical Weapons, An Issue For US And Russia To Discuss

An issue is on ground about Syria"s chemical weapon. Russia and the United States announced Saturday that they have reached a ground breaking deal on a framework to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, after talks in Switzerland. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stood side-by-side as they set out a series of steps the Syria government must follow. Syria must submit within one week a comprehensive list of its chemical weapons stockpile, Kerry said. International inspectors must be on the ground no later than November, he said. The framework also envisages the destruction of all Syria's chemical weapons by the middle of next year. The best way to ensure international control of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal will be to remove as much as is feasible and to destroy it outside of Syria if possible, the framework document says....

If Syria does not comply with the procedures to eliminate its chemical weapons, the threat of force could be included in a draft U.N. Security Council resolution, Kerry said Saturday. "We've committed to impose measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Security Council," he said. Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter leaves open the ultimate possibility for the Security Council to consider the use of force if Syria fails to comply, but Russia, which has veto power on the council, is very unlikely to agree to that. Other options include the use of sanctions.

Questioned by reporters, Kerry backed off the idea of force, saying he won't specify what the remedy "might be for circumstances we don't even know yet." He did say that President Barack Obama reserves the right to defend the United States and U.S. interests. However, he said, "the president also wants to find a diplomatic solution."

Kerry said the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must allow "immediate and unfettered" access to international inspectors. He said there was no place for games or avoidance by al-Assad.

But Kerry said there shouldn't be a problem reaching Syria's chemical weapons sites provided the al-Assad regime cooperates, since Syria has moved its chemical weapons into areas where it has tighter control.This will make it easier for U.N. inspectors to get to them despite the ongoing civil war, he said.