Kerry (left) also acknowledged that Syria’s civil war could only be ended through talks between the warring parties. Photo/AFP
GENEVA, Sept 14 – The United States and Russia on Saturday agreed on an ambitious plan to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by the middle of next year.
In a landmark deal thrashed out in talks spanning three days, the two powers gave Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a week to hand over the details and location of his regime’s stockpile, drastically cutting back on the 30 days usually accorded to new signatories of the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Assad’s regime must also provide “immediate and unfettered” access to inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
“The inspectors must be on the ground no later than November… and the goal is to establish the removal by halfway through next year,” Kerry told reporters at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after they wrapped up their talks.
Echoing a warning from President Barack Obama that military action by the US and its allies remained an option if diplomacy fails, Kerry warned that there must be “no games, no room for avoidance of anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime.”
Kerry said the steps agreed on Saturday would be encapsulated in a UN Security Council resolution drawn up under Chapter Seven of the organisation’s charter, which provides for enforcement through sanctions including the possible use of military force.
But with Russia strongly opposed to the use of military threats and wielding a veto on the Security Council, Kerry acknowledged it was “impossible to have a pre-agreement” on what would happen in the event of non-compliance.
Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov signalled that Moscow would back some form of sanction, saying the Security Council would act if Syria fails to meet its demands.
Kerry also acknowledged that Syria’s bloody civil war, which has resulted in more than 110,000 deaths in a little over two years, could only be ended through negotiations between the warring parties — another nod to Russia’s opposition to any form of military intervention.
“There is no military solution to the conflict in Syria, it has to be political,” Kerry said. “And we together remain committed to getting there.”
Lavrov hailed Saturday’s accord as an “excellent” agreement that reflected the priorities of both countries.
“The aim has been achieved that was set in a conversation between our presidents on September 5 on the sidelines of the G20… about putting under international control Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons,” Lavrov said.
Russia’s surprise announcement that Syria could hand over its chemical arsenal prompted Obama to put on hold military strikes the United States and France had threatened to unleash in response to an August chemical attack near Damascus, which Washington blames on the regime and says killed about 1,400 people.
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