U.S. ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO SYRIA: ASSAD HAS ONE WEEK TO TURN OVER CHEMICAL WEAPONS
September 9th, 2013Update: Syria ‘Welcomes’ Proposal to Put Chemical Weapons Under International Control
Via: CNN:
Syria on Monday embraced a Russian proposal for Bashar al-Assad to put his nation’s chemical weapons under international control as part of an effort to head off a possible military strike from the United States over an alleged poison gas attack.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told reporters in Moscow on Monday that his nation “welcomes” a statement from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said his country would urge Syria to take that step if it would avert a U.S. military response.
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Via: Guardian:
The US secretary of state has said that President Bashar al-Assad has one week to hand over his entire stock of chemical weapons to avoid a military attack. But John Kerry added that he had no expectation that the Syrian leader would comply.
Kerry also said he had no doubt that Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attack in east Damascus on 21 August, saying that only three people are responsible for the chemical weapons inside Syria – Assad, one of his brothers and a senior general. He said the entire US intelligence community was united in believing Assad was responsible.
