The Washington Post is reporting that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad is welcoming a Russian proposal to avert U.S. military strikes by having Damascus turn over control of its chemical weapons to international monitors.
The statement by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Moscow offered the first indication, according to the Post, that a diplomatic solution may be possible to the international standoff created by the Aug. 21 chemical attacks that killed 1,400 Syrian civilians.
Here is a portion of what the Post is reporting:
“On Monday, while meeting with Moualem, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country would ask Syria to relinquish control of its chemical weapons to international monitors in order to prevent a U.S. strike. Lavrov also called on Syria to sign and ratify the Convention on Chemical Weapons, which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.
“’If the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country will avoid strikes, we will immediately begin working with Damascus,” Lavrov said. “We call on the Syrian leadership not only to agree on a statement of storage of chemical weapons under international supervision, but also to their subsequent destruction.’
“Moualem said Syria ‘welcomes the Russian initiative,’ but did not say whether his country would agree to what Russia was asking. ‘We also welcome the wisdom of the Russian leadership, which is trying to prevent American aggression against our people,’ Moulaem said.
Hours earlier, in London, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said this when asked by a reporter whether there was anything that Assad could do to avoid a U.S. retaliatory attack. ‘Sure, he could turn over every bit of his weapons to the international community within the next week, without delay,” Kerry said. “But he isn’t about to.’ A State Department spokeswomen said Kerry was referring to Assad’s track record as a ‘brutal dictator with a history of playing fast and loose with the facts.’
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