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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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10Sep13
Syria accepts chemical weapons proposal, Russia pushes further steps
The Syrian government accepted a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control Tuesday to "stave off" a possible U.S. military strike, while Moscow pushed for further steps to implement the plan.
"We held a round of very effective talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday. He proposed a chemical weapons initiative and we accepted the Russian initiative later that evening," visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said during his meeting with State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin.
According to the diplomat, Syria made the decision in order to "stave off an American aggression," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.
Russia urged the Syrian government not only to put its chemical weapons under international control, but also to agree on their destruction and on full-fledged participation of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The first steps to implement the Syrian chemical weapons proposal were discussed during talks between al-Moualem and Naryshkin, Chairman of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov told reporters.
A decision on putting Syrian chemical weapons under control will be made within 7-10 days, Pushkov added.
Local experts said the positive development of Syria crisis has not actually been "sudden," as the Kremlin revealed Tuesday. Instead, it looked more like a Russia-Syria project.
"Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain the fact that Damascus expressed its consent with Moscow's proposals at lightning speed. Perhaps, the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister to Moscow was the last step to 'polish' that proposals before making it public," Meisant al-Janabi, a professor with the Russian People's Friendship University, told Xinhua in an interview.
The chemical weapons proposal was also a coordinated effort between Russia and the United States following discussions by top leaders of the two countries, experts said.
U.S. President Barack Obama has been seeking Congressional approval for military actions against Syria for an alleged Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack outside the Syrian capital, which reportedly killed at least 1,429 people, including 426 children. The Syrian government has denied the allegation.
The Kremlin admitted Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin and Obama discussed the possibility of placing Syrian chemical weapons under international control during last week's Group of Twenty (G20) summit in St. Petersburg.
According to Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the two leaders discussed the proposal during their brief meeting on the sidelines of the two-day summit.
The spokesman did not say who has initiated the discussion nor did he reveal the details of the Putin-Obama talks.
The United States did not want to put its political position at risk when more and more world leaders express their opposition to the military strikes against Syria, al-Janabi said, adding the Russian proposal is a good chance for Washington to save its face.
Meanwhile, it is also a good chance to save face, as President Bashar al-Assad's acceptance of the proposal showed clearly he was not afraid of international supervision, he said.
Putin vowed to help Syria in case of an external military attack during the G20 summit last week. With Lavrov's proposal on Monday, some suspected a stance change of Russia over Syria.
Local analysts said Russia has not changed its position. The latest development showed that Moscow is ready to go as far as possible in search of a political solution of the crisis, experts said.
[Source: Xinhua, Moscow, 10Sep13]
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