Assad: Syria to hand over chem arms in 1 month, only if US drops strike plans
Published time: September 12, 2013 12:48
Edited time: September 12, 2013 16:21
Edited time: September 12, 2013 16:21
Damascus has agreed to a Russia proposal to put its chemical weapons stockpiles under international control.
“Syria is handing over its chemical weapons under international supervision because of Russia,” Assad said in an interview with state-run news channel Rossiya-24. “The US threats did not influence the decision.”
Within days Damascus promises to submit to the United Nations all documents required for joining the chemical weapons ban treaty. A month after Syria signs the Chemical Weapons Convention it will start handing over information on chemical weapons to international organizations.
“I believe the agreement will come into force a month after the signing and Syria will start submitting data on its chemical weapons stockpile to international organizations. These are standard procedures and we are going to stick to them,” he said.
The Syrian president also called on the US administration to drop its plans for military action “with far-fetched reasons as a cause for the attack.”
“Terrorists are trying to provoke American strike against Syria,” Assad said. Rebel forces are receiving chemical weapons from abroad, he added.
Both the Syrian government and rebel forces have blamed each other for the chemical weapon attack in a Damascus suburb on August 21.
Talking to the Russian TV channel, Assad reiterated that the US has failed to present evidence that the Syrian government was behind the incident.
The interview was recorded on Thursday and will be aired later.
On Monday, as the White House was pushing for congressional approval of the military strike against the Syrian regime, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Damascus to put its stockpile of chemical weapons under international control.
Moscow also called on the Syrian government to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Syria accepted the proposal and agreed to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Moscow’s initiative was also welcomed in Washington. President Barack Obama urged the US Congress to postpone a vote to authorize military action, and said he was seeking a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, accompanied by groups of experts, were scheduled to meet in Geneva late Thursday to discuss in detail Moscow's plan to dispose of Syrian chemical weapons.
Ahead of the meeting, Lavrov said that not just Moscow and Washington would supervise the placing of Syrian chemical weapons under international control, but that specialists from other countries would also be involved in the process.
“We are not going to usurp these arrangements in the Russian-US format,” he told a media conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Interfax reported. “International specialists, experts of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, must take part in this work. We and our American colleagues are already holding a substantive dialogue with them.”
Lavrov also said he hoped Russia and the US would live up to international expectations in resolving the Syrian crisis.
“True, a lot depends on Russia and the United States, but the two of us will never deliver results unless our initiatives enjoy the support of the people of the region and the international community,” Lavrov said in an interview on a visit to Kazakhstan, before flying to Geneva. He added: “We need to solidly plan our initiatives on international legal principles.”
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