Syria accepted a Russian proposal yesterday to give up chemical weapons and win a reprieve from US military strikes, and major western powers began working on a United Nations resolution to create a timetable and process for ensuring it happens.
Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki accepted the Russian proposal “to spare Syrian blood”, state television reported.
The United States and its allies remained sceptical and President Barack Obama sought to keep the pressure on Syria by maintaining his drive for congressional backing for a possible military strike while exploring a diplomatic alternative.
Amid the whirlwind of diplomatic activity focused on the response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a Damascus neighbourhood on August 21, the civil war resumed in earnest, with President Bashar al-Assad’s jets again bombing rebel positions in the capital.
Dismayed rebels claim that last month’s gas attacks would go ‘unpunished’
France wants a binding UN Security Council resolution that would provide a framework for controlling and eliminating the weapons and says that Syria would face “extremely serious” consequences if it violated the conditions.
Britain and the United States said that they would work on quickly formulating a resolution.
The UN Security Council initially called a closed-door meeting that Russia had asked for to discuss its proposal to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control, but the meeting was later cancelled at Russia’s request.
By sending the planes back, the regime is sending the message that it no longer feels international pressure
Moscow, which has previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned the Syrian government over the conflict, appeared strongly opposed to the continuation of any military threats to Damascus, as advocated by Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in televised remarks that the initiative to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control would not succeed unless the United States and its allies reject the use of force against Damascus.
The US appeared unmoved. “For this diplomatic option to have a chance of succeeding, the threat of a US military action... must continue,” Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told the House Armed Services Committee.
The United States and France had been poised to launch missile strikes to punish Assad’s forces, which they blame for the chemical weapons attack. Syria denies it was responsible.
The White House said Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande had agreed in a telephone call on their preference for a diplomatic solution, but should continue to prepare for “a full range of responses.”
Obama was due to meet Senate Democrats and Republicans to present his case for approving a potential military strike. Secretary of State John Kerry also spelled out the argument in a House hearing and was due to talk by phone with Lavrov later in the day.
The White House said Obama, who has called the Russian proposal a potential breakthrough, would still push for a vote in Congress to authorise force in a televised address to Americans that he was due to make late last night.
But the US congressional vote now appeared more about providing a hypothetical threat to back up diplomacy, rather than to unleash immediate missile strikes.
A bipartisan group of senior members of Congress was working on a resolution that would take into account the Russian proposal.
Whether international inspectors can neutralise chemical weapons dumps while war rages in Syria remains open to question.
Syria’s rebels were dismayed by the Russian proposal, saying it had emboldened Assad to launch a deadly offensive and meant last month’s gas attacks would go unpunished.
The proposal provides a way out for Obama to avoid ordering action that is unpopular with Americans – weary after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan – and Congress.
Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, visiting Moscow, as saying Damascus had agreed to the initiative because it would “remove the grounds for American aggression”.
Assad’s warplanes bombed rebellious districts inside the Damascus city limits yesterday for the first time since the poison gas attacks. Rebels said the strikes demonstrated that the government had concluded the West had lost its nerve.
The war has already killed more than 100,000 people and driven millions from their homes.