A Way Out of Attacking Syria: Obama Welcomes Russian Proposal to Put Syria’s Chemical Weapons under Int’l Control

Local Editor

The American strike retreated in favor of US concessions. As US President Barak Obama suffered the allies' fear , and public opposition added to the defiance axis threats, he found no way out of retreating.

It all started with a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent destruction to avert a possible military strike.
"We are calling on the Syrian authorities not only agree on putting chemical weapons storages under international control, but also for its further destruction and then joining the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," the Russian FM Sergei Lavrov said. "We have passed our offer to [Syrian Foreign Minister] Walid al-Moallem and hope to receive a fast and positive answer," he added.

The top of Russian diplomacy said: "It is unclear if Syria will support the offer, but if it helps to avoid a military strike, Russia is immediately prepared to work with Damascus."

The Foreign Minister's statement comes shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry's comment that the Syrian President "could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community" to avoid a military strike on the country.
"Sure, he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week - turn it over, all of it without delay and allow the full and total accounting [of it[, but he isn't about to do it and it can't be done," Kerry said.

In response to the Russian proposal, the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said that Damascus was ready for "full cooperation with Russia to remove any pretext for aggression."
"I declare that the Syrian Arab Republic welcomes Russia's initiative, on the basis that the Syrian leadership cares about the lives of our citizens and the security in our country," al-Moallem said. "We are also confident in the wisdom of the Russian government, which is trying to prevent an American aggression against our people."

The Russian and Syrian Foreign Ministers met in Moscow on Monday.
 
As part of their meeting, Lavrov and al-Moallem urged for opposition and the government to unite their efforts in expelling terrorists from Syria. The two agreed that a political settlement is still possible.
Sergei Lavrov said that more and more states share Russia's belief that military action in Syria will only inflame terrorism.

Russia and Syria urged the US to focus on convening a peace conference to end a more than two-year long crisis, rather than launching military strikes.
With Obama seeking Congress' support for military action to respond to an alleged chemical attack near Damascus, al-Moallem said "the diplomatic channels to resolve this issue have not been exhausted".

"We ask about the motivation of the US to launch a strike against us", he said.

Obama...away from Humiliation

Hours later, US President Barack Obama said on Monday that Russia's offer to work with Damascus to put its chemical weapons under international control is potentially positive but should treated skeptically.
"I think you have to take it with a grain of salt initially," he told "NBC Nightly News" in an interview. "This represents a potentially positive development," he said, adding that Secretary of State John Kerry would explore with Russia how serious the offer is.

Obama was speaking in one of six television interviews he gave on Monday to make his case that Congress should grant him authority to take action against Syria.
He also said he hasn't decided whether he would launch a military strike on his own if Congress votes down the resolution. He said he is taking the vote and what the American people are saying "very seriously."

The US president added he knew there was a risk in asking Congress to approve a military strike, but that he was confident that lawmakers were taking the issue seriously and "doing their homework."
Obama told CNN that any diplomatic effort must be serious.
"And we don't want just a stalling or delaying tactic to put off the pressure that we have ... right now," he said. "We have to maintain this pressure, which is why I'll still be speaking to the nation tomorrow about why I think this is so important," he added.
The US president also said a breakthrough on control of Syrian chemical weapons would not solve "the underlying terrible conflict inside of Syria. But if we can accomplish this limited goal without taking military action, that would be my preference."

Obama said he has not made up his mind whether he will forge ahead with military action if Congress votes his proposal down. "It's fair to say that I haven't decided," he told NBC.
"You know, I wouldn't say I'm confident," he said in his NBC interview.
Regarding ties with Russia, Obama told PBS NewsHour he had discussed a potential diplomatic solution on Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week at the G20 summit.
"I did have those conversations. And this is a continuation of conversations I've had with President Putin for quite some time," Obama said.

"We don't want just a stalling or delaying tactic to put off the pressure that we have ... right now," he said."We have to maintain this pressure, which is why I'll still be speaking to the nation tomorrow about why I think this is so important," he added.

The US president said a breakthrough on control of Syrian chemical weapons would not solve "the underlying terrible conflict inside of Syria. But if we can accomplish this limited goal without taking military action, that would be my preference."

In response to the news, Syria's top rebel commander has accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Moscow of deceit. "We call for strikes and we warn the international community that this [Assad] regime tells lies, and the liar [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is its teacher. Putin is the biggest liar," the so-called Free Syrian Army chief Selim Idriss told al-Jazeera.

"The regime wants to buy time to save itself,"Idriss added.
He also warned "decision makers" against falling into al-Assad's "trap of deceit and dishonesty."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team