REPORT: Syria says it accepted Russian weapons proposal

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki said on Tuesday his country supported a Russian proposal for Damascus to give up chemical weapons to avoid a possible U.S. military strike. Syrian state television quoted Halki as saying the government backed the initiative in order "to spare Syrian blood.”

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said after meeting with Russian parliament speaker that his government quickly "agreed to the Russian initiative." Al-Moallem added that Syria did so to "uproot U.S. aggression."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his French counterpart that Moscow would propose a U.N. draft declaration supporting its initiative to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.            

As well, Russia's ambassador to France Alexandre Orlov said Moscow was ready to negotiate a U.N. resolution that foresees international control of Syria's chemical weapons, but ruled out a recourse to use force to impose it.          

Orlov said he had doubts over France's intentions by calling for a Chapter VII resolution of the U.N. charter which could enable the use of force.
       
For his part, President Vladimir Putin said a Russian proposal for Syria to place its chemical weapons arsenal under international control will not succeed unless the United States and its allies reject the use of force against Damascus.           

This as the White House said the leaders of the United States, Britain and France all have a preference for a diplomatic solution on Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons but also see a need for the international community to weigh a "full range of responses" on the issue.          

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the leaders agreed to have the U.N. Security Council explore a proposal floated by Russia to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control.

The U.S. Senate may not vote this week on the authorization for the use of military force in Syria, congressional aides said on Tuesday, after Syria's recent acceptance of a Russian proposal to give up its chemical weapons. Congressional leaders also want to wait to assess the public's response to President Barack Obama's address to the American people on Syria on Tuesday night, several aides said.

President Barack Obama said he will press ahead with his plan to ask Congress to approve the use of military force in Syria, despite Syria's recent acceptance of a Russian proposal to give up its chemical weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on television.

In turn, U.S. Representative Gene Green said the White House chief of staff Denis McDonough told Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives that diplomacy, rather than military action, is the priority on Syria now.

President Obama conceded Monday night he might lose his fight for congressional support of a military strike against Syria, and declined to say what he would do if lawmakers reject his call to back retaliation for a chemical weapons attack last month.

Obama said Syria's statement was a potentially positive development, but he voiced skepticism about that the regime of President Bashar Assad would follow through. He spoke in a series of six television network interviews planned as part of a furious lobbying campaign aimed at winning support from dubious lawmakers and well as a war-weary public.

Speaking of Assad's government, Obama said the credible threat of a military strike led by the United States "has given them pause and makes them consider whether or not they could make this move" to surrender control of their chemical weapons stockpile.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the US is hopeful a proposal for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons might avert the need for military strikes, but Washington must uphold that threat for any diplomatic option to succeed.       

Hagel added that proposed U.S. strikes on Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons should not increase refugee flows to neighboring Jordan, which is already under tremendous strain.          

"I think it's very unlikely that you would see any increase in refugees because of the nature of the kinds of very precise strikes that we're talking about," Hagel said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.

As well, Secretary of State John Kerry said the US is waiting to see a real and verifiable plan from Russia for removing chemical weapons from Syria but will not wait long and will not accept a delaying tactic.    

Meanwhile the U.S. military said it sees a low risk of retaliation from proposed U.S. strikes against Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday.
   
"We assess that the risk of retaliation because of the limited nature of the strike is low. I can't drive it to zero," Dempsey told a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. "And I can tell you that we are postured in the region in order to deal with any miscalculation or retaliation."
      
HRW:

Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday after an investigation that evidence strongly suggests a poison gas attack on Syrian rebels on Aug. 21 was undertaken by Syrian government forces.

The US-based rights group said in a report issued in New York, it had reached that conclusion after analyzing witness accounts, information of the likely source of the attacks, remnants of the weapons used and medical records of victims.

The United States says the poison gas attack on rebel areas killed more than 1,400 people.

In contrast, Russia announced this morning that it had obtained compelling evidence from international experts suggesting the photos that emerged in the wake of the alleged chemical attack were in fact fabricated.

POSITIONS:

British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said Britain wants evidence to show that a Russian-backed proposal for putting President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons under international control is not a delaying tactic.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wants Russia and Syria to demonstrate that a Moscow-backed proposal for President Bashar al-Assad to put his chemical weapons under international control is genuine, Cameron's spokesman said.

Britain, France and the United States will table a resolution on Syrian chemical weapons in the United Nations Security Council later on Tuesday, said British Prime Minister David Cameron, reacting to a Russian proposal for Syria to surrender such arms.
   
Cameron, who said he had just spoken to U.S. President Barack Obama about the issue, told lawmakers: "If this is a serious proposal then we should act accordingly and I think a U.N. Security Council resolution is a good idea."

This as, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France would propose a U.N. Security Council resolution setting out conditions for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control and accept that they will be dismantled.

Fabius told a news conference in Paris the resolution - under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter covering possible military and non-military action to restore peace - would warn of "extremely serious" consequences for Damascus if it breached those conditions.

For their part, Gulf Arab states said a Russian proposal calling for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons to win a reprieve from U.S. military strikes would not stop bloodshed in Syria.

For its part, China said that it welcomes and supports Russia's proposal that Syria hands over its chemical weapons for destruction, which could avert planned U.S. military strikes. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the comments at a regular news briefing, adding that a Syrian opposition delegation was visiting China from Tuesday.

In turn, the Iranian foreign ministry said Iran supports Russia's offer to work with Syria to put its chemical weapons under international control.
   
Syria signs supply contracts with Iran:

Syria has signed "major contracts" with Iran that would cover its needs for food, medical and other supplies, state television said. A protracted civil war has left Syria divided and displaced millions of people. The country has struggled to buy food in recent weeks, issuing tenders to buy sugar, flour, rice and wheat, citing extreme urgency yet failing to make any purchases.


On the field:

Inside Syria, government forces launched an offensive to wrest back control of a historic Christian town north of Damascus, activists said.

In the past six days, the town of Maaloula has already changed hands three times between Assad's forces and rebels, some of whom are linked to al Qaeda.

This as videos posted on the internet showed heavy shelling on the Barzeh district of Damascus.

In one, a man can be seen firing an artillery type gun, the camera rapidly pans to show a large explosion among buildings.

It is unclear whether the gunner is a rebel fighter or a regime soldier, but an off camera voice can be heard saying that shelling was continuing in the Barzeh district.

In another video in the same district several shells are shown impacting close to each other.

Elsewhere in Syria, in Busra al-Sham, in Daraa Province, a cameraman has what would appear to be a lucky escape.

Gunfire can be heard followed immediately by the whistle of a shell and a large explosion next to the camera.

The Syrian conflict started in March 2011 as largely peaceful protests against Assad's rule.

It turned into a civil war after opposition supporters took up arms to fight a government crackdown on dissent.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in the war, with nearly seven million people uprooted from their homes.



REUTERS/LBCI/AP


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