Russia, US reach 'understanding' on Syria chemical weapons resolution

"This is a breakthrough arrived at through hard-fought diplomacy," a senior State Department official told Al Jazeera. The official called the resolution "binding" and "enforceable" and said that the "failure of (Bashar al-Assad's) regime to comply will have consequences."

But the draft resolution makes clear that there is no trigger for any enforcement measures if Syria fails to comply with the provisions of the resolution or the dismantling of its chemical weapons. Instead, it states that in the event of noncompliance or use of chemical weapons, the Security Council will "impose measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter," which would require a second resolution.

Chapter 7 allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security. Russia and China have opposed any reference to it since the conflict in Syria began. Secretary of State John Kerry and Lavrov met in hastily scheduled, closed-door talks Thursday afternoon to resolve several last-minute disputes over the text, and the agreement was announced soon afterward.

Syria recently met a deadline to disclose details about its chemical arsenal -- a result of an earlier deal brokered between the U.S. and Russia that averted military intervention in the country. Syria is believed to have about 1,000 tons of toxins for use in chemical weapons.

The Security Council has long been paralyzed in dealing with Syria's two-and-a-half-year conflict -- which has killed more than 100,000 people and spilled over its borders -- because of differences between Russia and China, which back Assad's government, and the U.S., Britain and France, which support the opposition. Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to end the violence.

U.N. chemical weapons investigators confirmed on Sept. 16 the use of sarin gas in Syria in an Aug. 21 attack outside Damascus. The Syrian opposition says the attack claimed the lives of at least 1,100 people, including children.          

President Barack Obama previously said the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line," prompting the U.S. to threaten military intervention in the country's ongoing civil war.

A flurry of international diplomacy commenced after U.S. navy ships -- capable of missile strikes against Syria -- arrived in the Mediterranean Sea and Obama asked Congress to approve military intervention in the country, leading to the U.S.-Russian agreement on destroying the chemical weapons and the U.N. resolution.

Dexter Mullins contributed to this report. With Al Jazeera and wire services.