US, Russia Strike Deal on Syria

Inspectors will see chemical stockpiles by November
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 14, 2013 6:07 AM CDT
US, Russia Strike Deal on Syria
Secretary of State John Kerry speaks next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

They've got a deal on Syria: John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have agreed on the broad strokes of a plan designed to culminate in the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, reports Reuters. Under the deal, Bashar al-Assad will turn over a list of his chemical arsenal within a week, UN inspectors will be on the ground in Syria by November, and the weapons will start being destroyed next year, reports the Washington Post. All will be spelled out in a UN resolution that will call for some kind of penalties—perhaps sanctions, though not the use of force—if Syria doesn't comply.

“If fully implemented, this framework can provide greater protection and security to the world," said Kerry, who set off the US-Russian talks with a seemingly offhand comment on Monday. Asked then how Assad could avoid a military strike, Kerry responded, “He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. Turn it over, all of it, without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that. But he isn’t about to do it, and it can’t be done, obviously.” Russia pounced on the opening, and Assad has agreed in principle. (More Syria stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X