Syria applied on Thursday to sign up to the global ban on chemical weapons, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed a Russian plan under which Damascus would give up its arsenal of poison gas.
The United Nations said it had received Syria's application to join the Chemical Weapons Convention, shortly after President Bashar al-Assad promised to deliver it within days. Washington immediately warned Syria against stalling tactics to avoid military strikes.
The United Nations said it had received Syria's application to join the Chemical Weapons Convention, shortly after President Bashar al-Assad promised to deliver it within days. Washington immediately warned Syria against stalling tactics to avoid military strikes.
As he began talks in Geneva with Lavrov, Kerry said force might still be needed against Syria if diplomacy over Assad's chemical weapons stockpile fails.
"President Obama has made clear that should diplomacy fail force might be necessary to deter and degrade Assad's capacity to deliver these weapons," Kerry said.
"Expectations are high. They are high for the United States perhaps even more sides for Russia to deliver on the promise of this moment. This is not a game and I said that to my friend Sergei when we talked about it initially," Kerry said.
Source: Reuters
