A diplomatic breakthrough Saturday on securing and destroying Syria's
chemical weapons stockpile averted the threat of U.S. military action for the
moment and could swing momentum toward ending a horrific civil war.
Marathon negotiations between U.S. and Russian diplomats at a Geneva hotel
produced a sweeping agreement that will require one of the most ambitious
arms-control efforts in history.
The deal involves making an inventory and seizing all components of Syria's
chemical weapons program and imposing penalties if
President Bashar Assad's government fails to comply will the terms.
After days of intense day-and-night negotiations between U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and
their teams, the two powers announced they had a 
framework for ridding the
world of Syria's chemicals weapons.
framework for ridding the
world of Syria's chemicals weapons.
The U.S. says Assad used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack on the
outskirts of Damascus, the capital, killing more than 1,400 civilians. That
prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to ready American airstrikes on his order
— until he decided last weekend to ask for authorization from the U.S.
Congress. Then came the Russian proposal, and Obama asked Congress, already
largely opposed to military intervention, to delay a vote.
Kerry and Lavrov said they agreed on the size of the chemical weapons
inventory, and on a speedy timetable and measures for Assad to do away with the
toxic agents.
But Syria, a Moscow ally, kept silent on the development, while Obama made
clear that "if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to
act."
The deal offers for reviving international peace talks to end
a civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives and sent 2 million
refugees fleeing for safety, and now threatens the stability of the entire
Mideast.
Source: CBC...More...
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