Originally published on September 10, 2013
Russia suggested the Assad regime to hand over its chemical arsenal to international supervision to be destroyed.
According to Reuters, "President Barack Obama, struggling to gain support for U.S. military action in Syria, called Russia's proposal on Monday to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control a "potentially positive" move that should be viewed skeptically.
"Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid pushed back a Senate test vote on whether to authorize military strikes against Syria that had been scheduled for Wednesday as lawmakers evaluate the Russian plan. The vote is still expected this week.
"In a round of six television interviews on Monday, Obama said he prefers a diplomatic solution in Syria and will have U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry explore the Russian proposal.
"The Russian offer provided the administration a new option on Syria. It came a few hours after Kerry had suggested in London, in response to a reporter's question, that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avoid a military strike by surrendering his chemical arsenal.
"Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem "welcomed" the Russian proposal.
"Britain and France gave tentative support, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon separately said on Monday he may ask the U.N. Security Council to demand that Damascus move its chemical arms stocks to sites where they can be safely stored and destroyed.
"A senior U.S. official described Kerry's comment as rhetorical, but said Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a later phone call that while he was skeptical about the prospect he would examine any serious proposal.
"Administration officials emphasized, however, that the Russian effort should not be an excuse to delay congressional authorization of a military strike."
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