(AFP) – President Bashar al-Assad vowed to hand over Syria’s chemical
weapons Thursday as Moscow and Washington were set to begin high-stakes
talks on a Russian plan to avert US-led military action against his
regime.
Speaking to Russian television, Assad said Syria would place its
chemical weapons under foreign control in line with Moscow’s proposal.
“Syria is handing over chemical weapons under international control
because of Russia,” Assad was quoted as telling Rossiya 24 state news
channel.
“US threats have not affected the decision,” he said, adding that
Syria planned to file documents to the United Nations to sign an
agreement on chemical arms.
Assad’s move came as the US and Russia prepared to meet in Geneva for
talks on the proposal for Syria to open its doors to inspectors and
eliminate its chemical weapons.
Backed by a large team of experts, US Secretary of State John Kerry was to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Officials from the two countries were to pore over Moscow’s plan — an
11th-hour proposal that led US President Barack Obama to put off
threatened US military action against the Syrian regime.
Washington wants to see if Assad is serious about putting his
chemical weapons stockpile under international control, amid allegations
the regime used sarin gas in an attack near Damascus last month.
Ahead of the talks, a senior US official said Washington was urging Syria to “declare all of their stockpile quickly.”
The official said Washington would be asking for specific action from
Damascus to test the regime’s sincerity and discussing the “different
modalities” of destroying Assad’s chemical weapons and production
facilities.
“It’s doable, but difficult,” the official said.
Lavrov voiced optimism ahead of the talks, saying during a visit to
Kazakhstan: “I am sure that there is a chance for peace in Syria… We
cannot let it slip away.”
In a speech quoted by Russian news agencies, Lavrov said he was
prepared to “ensure Syria’s adherence to the chemical weapon ban
convention.”
The United States and its main backer of military strikes on Syria
France have warned they will not allow the chemical weapons plan to
become a delaying tactic in Syria’s brutal war, saying the threat of
military force remains on the table.
Revealing details of the Russian proposal for the first time
Thursday, daily Kommersant said Moscow had given Washington a four-step
plan for the weapons handover.
Quoting a Russian diplomatic source, Kommersant said the plan would
see Damascus join the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), declare the locations of its chemical arms, allow OPCW
inspectors access and finally arrange for destruction of the arsenal.
Syria’s opposition has denounced the plan, warning it will only lead
to more deaths in a conflict that has already killed more than 110,000
people since March 2011.
The commander of the Free Syrian Army, Selim Idriss, said in a video
posted on YouTube that the rebels categorically rejected the Russian
initiative.
And the Syrian National Coalition opposition group said the plan is a
“political manoeuvre aimed at buying time” for Assad and would be a
“green light” to other regimes to use chemical weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile made an unusual personal
appeal to the American people to reject military action, in an opinion
piece in the New York Times.
“A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of
terrorism,” Putin wrote. “It could throw the entire system of
international law and order out of balance.”
Putin welcomed US willingness to consider the Moscow initiative, but
warned any strikes without the approval of the United Nations Security
Council, where Moscow wields a veto, would destroy the credibility of
the world body.
Russia is a traditional ally of Assad, and Moscow, backed by China,
has blocked any attempt to sanction his regime through the United
Nations.
The talks in Geneva were expected to last two to three days and also
focus on revitalising efforts to organise a peace conference aimed at
ending Syria’s civil war.
As well as Lavrov, Kerry was due to meet UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar
Brahimi to discuss UN-backed efforts to bring the Assad regime to the
table with the opposition rebels.
Western officials have claimed the sudden renewal of diplomatic
efforts on Syria was the result of the military threats, but have
questioned whether Assad can be trusted.
Washington alleges that some 1,400 people died in the chemical attack
on August 21 and was rallying support for a military response when the
Russian proposal emerged.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday that a
much-awaited report by UN inspectors into the attack will “probably” be
published on Monday.
“It will say that there was a chemical massacre,” Fabius told French radio.
