International
President Barack Obama said a deal reached on a United Nations resolution to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons is "potentially a huge victory for the international community."
The draft resolution demands that Syria abandon its chemical stockpile and allow unfettered access to chemical weapons experts. If Syria fails to comply, the U.N. Security Council will need to adopt a second resolution to impose consequences.
Obama said during an Oval Office meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that he is "very hopeful for the prospects of what can be accomplished."
He applauded a framework that he said is legally binding, verifiable and enforceable. And he argued his threat of military strikes was crucial to reaching the agreement but that he always preferred a diplomatic solution.
Early Friday, Reuters reported that chemical weapons experts are expected to start inspections of Syrian stockpiles by Tuesday.
The president's comments came ahead of a Security Council meeting on Syria set for Friday evening.
On Thursday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia and the U.S. had reached an "understanding" on a draft of a Security Council resolution after a weeks-long diplomatic impasse over how to confront the use of chemical weapons against Syrians.
The agreement clears the way for a vote by the entire Security Council. According to the Twitter account of U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, the resolution sets a precedent against the use of chemical weapons and requires Syria to give up its stockpile.
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 consistently opposed any reference to Chapter 7 since the conflict in Syria began, while the U.S. has repeatedly called for a resolution with teeth that would threaten military action or sanctions if Syria does not give up its chemical stockpile.
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, but did not assign blame. The Syrian opposition and the U.S. say the attack came from the Syrian government and that it claimed the lives of at least 1,100 people, including children.
Al Jazeera and wire services
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