The US-Russia deal on Syria's chemical
weapons is a "victory" that averts
war, a Syrian minister says.
The framework document says Syria
must provide full details of its
stockpile within a week - with the
chemical arsenal eliminated by
mid-2014.
If Syria fails to comply, the deal could
be enforced by a UN resolution with
the use of force as a last resort.
The US had threatened to attack Syria
which it blames for a chemical attack
in August which killed hundreds.
President Bashar al-Assad's
government denies the allegations and
has accused the rebels of carrying out
the attack.
Syria recently agreed to join the
global Chemical Weapons Convention,
and the UN said it would come under
the treaty from 14 October.
The framework deal was announced on
Saturday after three days of talks in
Geneva by Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of
State John Kerry.
"We welcome the agreement," Syrian
Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar told
Russian news agency Ria Novosti,
giving his country's first reaction.
"On the one hand, it helps Syria come
out of the crisis and, on the other, it
helps avoid the war against Syria
depriving those who wanted to launch
it of arguments to do so," Mr Haidar
said.
"It's a victory for Syria achieved
thanks to our Russian friends."
China, France, the UK, the UN, the
Arab League and Nato have all
expressed satisfaction at the
agreement.
On Saturday, US President Barack
Obama said in a statement that the
deal was an "important step" but urged
Syria to "live up to its public
commitments".
"If diplomacy fails, the United States
remains prepared to act," he said. The
Pentagon said the US military was still
in position for military strikes.
In an interview with the ABC network
on Sunday, Mr Obama confirmed that
he had exchanged letters about Syria
with newly-elected Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani.
In an allusion to the dispute between
Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear
programme, Mr Obama said: "What they
should draw from this lesson is that
there is the potential of resolving
these issues diplomatically."
"My view is that if you have both a
credible threat of force, combined
with a rigorous diplomatic effort…
you can strike a deal," Mr Obama
added.
French President Francois Hollande
also said on Sunday that the military
option should remain on the table.
'Last-ditch' option
The timetable for the process is
described by analysts as extremely
ambitious.
Rebel fighters have rejected the deal
as a Russian ploy to gain the regime
time
It envisages Syria providing a full
inventory of its chemical weapons in
one week, all production equipment
being destroyed by November, and all
weapons being removed from Syria or
destroyed by mid-2014.
Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov said a UN
resolution could be sought under
Chapter VII of the UN charter, which
allows for the use of force, if Syria
fails to comply.
However the Russian foreign minister
said force remained a last-ditch
option.
Russia and the US have agreed on an
assessment that the Syrian
government possesses 1,000 tonnes of
chemical agents and precursors,
according to a US official.
The US believes the materials are
located in 45 sites, all in government
hands, half of which have useable
quantities of chemical agents.
But it is thought that Russia does not
agree on the number of sites, nor
that they are all under the
government's control.
The military leader of the anti-Assad
Free Syrian Army has rejected the
deal, saying it it a ploy by Russia to
buy time for President Assad.
On Sunday the Syrian National
Coalition, the main umbrella opposition
group, demanded in a statement that
the ban on chemical weapons be
extended to the Syrian government's
use of ballistic missiles and air power
against civilian population centres.
Fighting continued inside Syria on
Sunday, with heavy shelling reported
by government forces on suburbs of
Damascus, where fierce fighting has
been taking place for several days.
Several deaths were also reported
elsewhere in the country, including in
the central city of Hama where the
UK-based activist group the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said
that rebels, including Islamist
fighters, had clashed with government
forces and pro-government militias.
In comments to a press conference
after talks with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Kerry said he
understood the opposition's
contention that removing chemical
weapons would not stop the killing in
Syria.
However, he insisted the deal was a
"step forward" in eliminating those
weapons from the government's
arsenal.
Mr Netanyahu said: "What the past
few days have shown is something that
I have been saying for quite some
time, that if diplomacy has any chance
to work, it must be coupled with a
credible military threat."
Mr Kerry is due to go to Paris to meet
his French, British and Saudi
counterparts on Monday.
More than 100,000 people have died
since the uprising against President
Assad began in 2011.
Millions of Syrians have fled the
country, mostly to neighbouring
nations. However, on Saturday, Italy's
coastguard said more than 500 people,
mostly Syrians, had been rescued off
the Italian coast.
Millions more have been internally
displaced within Syria.
weapons is a "victory" that averts
war, a Syrian minister says.
The framework document says Syria
must provide full details of its
stockpile within a week - with the
chemical arsenal eliminated by
mid-2014.
If Syria fails to comply, the deal could
be enforced by a UN resolution with
the use of force as a last resort.
The US had threatened to attack Syria
which it blames for a chemical attack
in August which killed hundreds.
President Bashar al-Assad's
government denies the allegations and
has accused the rebels of carrying out
the attack.
Syria recently agreed to join the
global Chemical Weapons Convention,
and the UN said it would come under
the treaty from 14 October.
The framework deal was announced on
Saturday after three days of talks in
Geneva by Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of
State John Kerry.
"We welcome the agreement," Syrian
Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar told
Russian news agency Ria Novosti,
giving his country's first reaction.
"On the one hand, it helps Syria come
out of the crisis and, on the other, it
helps avoid the war against Syria
depriving those who wanted to launch
it of arguments to do so," Mr Haidar
said.
"It's a victory for Syria achieved
thanks to our Russian friends."
China, France, the UK, the UN, the
Arab League and Nato have all
expressed satisfaction at the
agreement.
On Saturday, US President Barack
Obama said in a statement that the
deal was an "important step" but urged
Syria to "live up to its public
commitments".
"If diplomacy fails, the United States
remains prepared to act," he said. The
Pentagon said the US military was still
in position for military strikes.
In an interview with the ABC network
on Sunday, Mr Obama confirmed that
he had exchanged letters about Syria
with newly-elected Iranian President
Hassan Rouhani.
In an allusion to the dispute between
Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear
programme, Mr Obama said: "What they
should draw from this lesson is that
there is the potential of resolving
these issues diplomatically."
"My view is that if you have both a
credible threat of force, combined
with a rigorous diplomatic effort…
you can strike a deal," Mr Obama
added.
French President Francois Hollande
also said on Sunday that the military
option should remain on the table.
'Last-ditch' option
The timetable for the process is
described by analysts as extremely
ambitious.
Rebel fighters have rejected the deal
as a Russian ploy to gain the regime
time
It envisages Syria providing a full
inventory of its chemical weapons in
one week, all production equipment
being destroyed by November, and all
weapons being removed from Syria or
destroyed by mid-2014.
Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov said a UN
resolution could be sought under
Chapter VII of the UN charter, which
allows for the use of force, if Syria
fails to comply.
However the Russian foreign minister
said force remained a last-ditch
option.
Russia and the US have agreed on an
assessment that the Syrian
government possesses 1,000 tonnes of
chemical agents and precursors,
according to a US official.
The US believes the materials are
located in 45 sites, all in government
hands, half of which have useable
quantities of chemical agents.
But it is thought that Russia does not
agree on the number of sites, nor
that they are all under the
government's control.
The military leader of the anti-Assad
Free Syrian Army has rejected the
deal, saying it it a ploy by Russia to
buy time for President Assad.
On Sunday the Syrian National
Coalition, the main umbrella opposition
group, demanded in a statement that
the ban on chemical weapons be
extended to the Syrian government's
use of ballistic missiles and air power
against civilian population centres.
Fighting continued inside Syria on
Sunday, with heavy shelling reported
by government forces on suburbs of
Damascus, where fierce fighting has
been taking place for several days.
Several deaths were also reported
elsewhere in the country, including in
the central city of Hama where the
UK-based activist group the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said
that rebels, including Islamist
fighters, had clashed with government
forces and pro-government militias.
In comments to a press conference
after talks with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Kerry said he
understood the opposition's
contention that removing chemical
weapons would not stop the killing in
Syria.
However, he insisted the deal was a
"step forward" in eliminating those
weapons from the government's
arsenal.
Mr Netanyahu said: "What the past
few days have shown is something that
I have been saying for quite some
time, that if diplomacy has any chance
to work, it must be coupled with a
credible military threat."
Mr Kerry is due to go to Paris to meet
his French, British and Saudi
counterparts on Monday.
More than 100,000 people have died
since the uprising against President
Assad began in 2011.
Millions of Syrians have fled the
country, mostly to neighbouring
nations. However, on Saturday, Italy's
coastguard said more than 500 people,
mostly Syrians, had been rescued off
the Italian coast.
Millions more have been internally
displaced within Syria.
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