Now Russia urges Syria to hand over its chemical weapons after Kerry gave Assad
a week to give them up
- - U.S secretary of state John Kerry lands in London for Syrian crisis talks
- - Suggested in off-the-cuff remarks that military action could be avoided if Assad
handed over store of chemical weapons - - Russian Foreign Minister calls on ally Syria to obey ultimatum
- - White House is attempting to get Congress to back military intervention
- - 25 nations sign statement blaming Assad regime for chemical attack
- - Kerry also said any missile strikes would be 'unbelievably small'
By JAMES CHAPMAN and TAMARA COHEN
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American plans for military strikes on Syria were in disarray last night after Russia seized on a blunder from US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr Kerry suggested the Syrian tyrant could prevent international military action against his country by giving up his chemical weapons arsenal.
He caused further confusion in Washington by promising any missile strikes that may take place would be ‘unbelievably small’.
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Pressure: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, called on Syria to comply with an American ultimatum to hand over its chemical weapons during a meeting with Syrian counterpart Walid al-Mouallem, right
Blunder: Secretary of State John Kerry, pictured, right, with William Hague, said Assad could prevent military action if he gives up his chemical weapons
Russia seized on the off-the-cuff remarks, offering to start work ‘immediately’ to put Assad’s poison gas stocks under ‘international control’.
The plan was also welcomed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Last night the US government said it would take a ‘hard look’ at the Russian proposal but had ‘serious scepticism’ about putting Syria’s chemical weapons under international protection.
But diplomatic sources said there had been no discussion at last week’s G20 summit of such a plan.
One said Mr Kerry’s intervention, made as he concluded a tour of Western nations, risked complicating a crunch vote in the US Senate over whether to back Barack Obama’s plans to use force against Syria.
The Senate will vote tomorrow, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York.
However, if President Obama fears losing the vote, some suspect he may yet use Mr Kerry’s intervention as a device to delay.
Talks: Russia offered to start work 'immediately' to put Assad's poison gas stocks under 'international control' after Kerry's comments
The idea President Assad could hand over his weapons began as a flippant remark by Mr Kerry yesterday morning in London after talks with Foreign Secretary William Hague.
The White House refused to say whether they agreed the line with the secretary of state but one administration official told CNN it was ‘a major goof’.
Asked what President Assad could do to avoid military action, Mr Kerry said: ‘He can turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week.’
He hastily added: ‘He isn’t about to do it and it can’t be done, obviously.’
Seeking to assuage critics of military intervention, the US Secretary of State insisted: ‘We are not talking about war. We are not going to war.
'We will be able to hold Bashar Assad accountable without engaging in troops on the ground or any prolonged kind of effort in a very limited, very targeted, very short-term effort.’
Confusing: Kerry, right, also said any missile strike by the U.S. would be 'unbelievably small'
Allies: Tyrant Bashar al-Assad, left, passed his thanks on to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his ongoing support in the G20 against a US led bid to launch military action against Syria
Within hours, Russia seized on the idea. The country’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, following talks in Moscow with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moallem, said: ‘If the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country would allow avoiding strikes, we will immediately start working with Damascus.
‘We are calling on the Syrian leadership to not only agree on placing chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also on its subsequent destruction and fully joining the treaty on prohibition of chemical weapons.’
Mr al-Moallem said that Syria ‘welcomes Russia’s initiative, based on the Syrian’s government care about the lives of our people and security of our country’.
Asked in the Commons about Moscow’s proposals, Mr Cameron said: ‘If that were to be the case, it would be hugely welcome. I think we have to be careful though to make sure this is not a distraction tactic to discuss something else rather than the problem on the table.’
Diplomacy: Foreign Secretary William Hague, left, meets with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry during his whistle-stop tour of Europe
Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, whose support for military action appeared to have been won by President Obama, said the suggestion strikes would be ‘unbelievably small’ was ‘unbelievably unhelpful’.
Speaking to CBS, Assad warned that if Mr Obama decides to launch military strikes, the US and its allies that, in retaliation: ‘You should expect everything. Not necessarily from the government.’
Diplomatic sources said Syria had always refused to sign up to anti-chemical weapons treaties and did not even acknowledge the existence of its stockpiles, meaning the chances of meaningful progress were negligible. They also poured scorn on the idea that Russia could be trusted to act as an honest broker in any deal.
Defiant: Bashar al Assad said he was ready for an American-led military strike and expected that 'repercussions' would follow for the U.S, during an interview on CBS
He replied: 'He can turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week.'
He added: 'He isn't about to do it and it can't be done, obviously.'
Mr Kerry used the opportunity to redouble his attacks on Assad, saying that the Syrian president's credibility was in question.
'He sends SCUD missiles into schools,' he said '(Washington) knows where the rockets came from and where they landed ... and it was no accident that they all came from regime -controlled territory and all landed (in opposition-held territory)'
In an interview on CBS's This Morning, Assad argued that the evidence Mr Kerry has disclosed about chemical weapons use amounts to a 'big lie' that resembled the case for war in Iraq the U.S. made to the United Nations over a decade ago.
Asked to respond, Mr Kerry said he would be confident to take evidence that the US intelligence committee has gathered into any court.
'What does he offer?' Mr Kerry asked. 'Words that are contradicted by fact.'
The White House has led international calls for the pressing need to prevent further atrocities after harrowing video emerged of an alleged chemical weapons attack which killed nearly 1,400 people.
However, America has appeared increasingly isolated after Prime Minister David Cameron was defeat in the House of Commons on a plan for UK involvement in military strikes on the al-Assad regime - blamed for deploying the banned munitions against its own people.
Fallout: Free Syrian Army fighter Mustafa Bekir, 23, who lost his legs in a Syrian Air Force strike, is carried by a family member into Turkey as thousands more flee the conflict
Protest: Anti-war protestors demonstrated outside the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office as U.S. Secretary State John Kerry visited Monday
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