Moscow/Washington, 10 Sep (PTI): President Barack Obama said he would “absolutely” put on hold a possible US-led military attack on Syria if it places its chemical weapons arsenal under international control, even as Russia was in talks with Damascus to draw a “concrete plan” on the issue. Hours after Obama said that he was looking skeptically, but seriously, at a Russian offer to push the Bashar al-Assad regime to put its chemical weapons arsenal under international control, Moscow announced it was holding talks with Damascus to formulate a “workable, precise and concrete” plan for the smooth transfer of the deadly weapons.
“We (Russia) are currently working on preparing a workable, precise and concrete plan and for this there are literally right now, in these minutes, contacts with the Syrian side. And we expect to present this plan soon and we will be ready to work on it with the UN Secretary General, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and with the participation of members of the UN Security Council,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Earlier in interviews to American news channels, Obama said, “If the Syrian President gives up his chemical weapons, a military strike would absolutely be on pause. That’s in our national security interest. If we can do that without a military strike, that is overwhelmingly my preference. And now the key is, can we see a sense of urgency?” Asserting that he always preferred a diplomatic resolution to the Syrian crisis, Obama said, “I fervently hope that this can be resolved in a non-military way.”
Obama, unsure of getting enough Congressional support on Syria, said he would take a final decision after talking to the American people directly. According a media report, Obama could fall short of 50 votes needed to get Senate authorisation for a military strike against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people.
The US had alleged that sarin – a deadly nerve agent – was used by the Assad regime on 21 August that left at least 1,429 civilians, including over 400 children, dead. The Syrian government denied the charge, saying rebels had used the deadly gas to defame it. On 9 September, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem welcomed the Russian proposal to avoid any US military action: “I carefully listened to (Russian foreign minister) Sergei Lavrov’s statement about it. In connection with this, I note that Syria welcomes the Russian initiative based on the Syrian leadership’s concern about the lives of our nationals and the security of our country.”
Muallem’s comments came after Lavrov called on Syria to put control of its chemical weapons arsenal to international supervision: “We do not know if Syria agrees to this, but if placing the chemical weapons under international control helps avoid military strikes, then we will immediately get to work on this,” Lavrov had said after US Secretary of State John Kerry hinted America could avoid attacking Syria if the regime turns over its chemical arms to the international community.
Meanwhile, France said it would place a resolution to the UN Security Council to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control so they can be destroyed. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there would be a request for a complete inspection of all chemical weapons.
