KERRY AND LAVROV AGREE DESTROYED SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS STOCKPILE

Geneva, 9 Dhul Qa’ida 1434/14 September 2013 (MINA) – US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday (14/9) announced they agreed on a roadmap to destroy Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons by mid-2014 in Geneva.

Speaking to journalists following their 3-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the two ministers announced they finally agreed on a 6-point framework, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Because Syria has receive the Russian proposal, Kerry told that President Bashar al-Assad’s must allow international inspections in Syria by November with the goal of eliminating stockpiles chemical weapons, Aljazeera reports.

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Kerry said the Syrian regime would have one week to submit details on providing experts from Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with “immediate and unfettered” access to its chemical weapons program.

Kerry and Lavrov said Syria must comply with the agreed deal and that any failure would result in a Security Council resolution.

Lavrov said their decision was based upon “consensus and compromise”, pointing out that the deal contained nothing about the potential use of force if Syria fails to comply.

The agreement was criticised by General Salim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army, the main armed opposition group.

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“We cannot accept any part of this initiative,” he said. “The FSA will work towards toppling Assad and does not care about US-Russia deals.

He added that the FSA was “frustrated, and feels betrayed by the international community. It has no faith the UN will ever support it”.

The US accuses the Assad regime of killing 1,429 people in a chemical assault on a suburb of Damascus on August 21. Assad denies involvement in the attack. The US at first pushed for military action against Assad, but later agreed to try to find a diplomatic solution after the intervention of Assad’s ally, Russia.

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The US-Russia deal could also pave the way for the resumption of peace talks to end the civil war, now in its third year. More than 100,000 people have been killed, and millions have fled to other countries or to safer areas within Syria. (T/P09/P03)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).