SYRIA CRISIS - Reports: Deal reached on Syria UN resolution

Reports: Deal reached on Syria UN resolution

Five members of Security Council said to be close to agreement on dismantling Syria's chemical-weapons stockpile. Last Modified: 26 Sep 2013 17:29

UN inspectors have returned to Damascus to complete their probe into alleged chemical-arms use [AFP]

Diplomats at the UN say the five permanent members of the divided Security Council appear to have reached agreement on a resolution to require Syria to dismantle its chemical-weapons stockpiles. Their comments on Thursday came a day after Sergey Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said negotiators had overcome a major hurdle and agreed that the text of the resolution would include a reference to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security. The five veto-wielding members of the Security Council have been discussing for weeks what to include in a new resolution requiring that Syria's chemical weapons stockpile be secured and dismantled. The US and Russia had been at odds on how to enforce the resolution. Ryabkov said earlier that his country was ready to help guard Syrian chemical weapons sites and destroy President Bashar al-Assad's stockpiles, but it would not ship any of the chemical arms to Russia for destruction. "We will be ready to help in guarding those facilities where work is being carried out," the Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying at an arms fair in the Ural Mountains city of Nizhny Tagil. Russia and the US are the only countries with industrial-scale capacity to handle mustard, VX, sarin or cyanide-armed munitions, but the import of chemical weapons is banned under US law. Ryabkov said Russia would not import chemical weapons either, state-run RIA reported. Noting that the Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the export of chemical weapons, he said: "We believe the destruction [of chemical weapons] on Syrian territory is the best option." John Kerry, US secretary of state, and Sergey Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, approved the deal this month, under which inspections of chemical weapons sites in Syria are to be completed by November 30 and its entire arsenal destroyed by June 30. Inspectors in Syria A team of UN chemical experts arrived in Syria on Wednesday on their second mission to the country, where they will examine some 14 alleged incidents involving the use of chemical weapons. On their earlier mission, the team investigated an August 21 attack in the outskirts of Damascus that reportedly killed hundreds of people, They were reported to have left their hotel in Damascus in a three-car convoy on Thursday but their destination was not clear. The development came against a backdrop of continued violence. A mortar shell struck the Iraqi consulate building in central Damascus, killing one person and wounding three, Syrian state media reported, In central Syria, Assad's forces bombarded Homs with rockets and other heavy weapons as they attempted to root out rebel fighters. The strategic city, lying between Damascus and Assad's coastal Alawite stronghold further north, has been the scene of months of conflict between government forces and entrenched rebels. Meanwhile, in the country's north, activists reported the death of an al-Qaeda commander in clashes with Kurdish fighters. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the commander died on Wednesday night in the province of Aleppo. While it did not provide the man's name, it identified him as a UAE national and the emir -or commander- of Aleppo. Rebel groups battling Assad have become increasingly embroiled in internal fighting. The head of the opposition Supreme Military Council cut short a visit to France on Thursday, saying he would head to Syria for talks with rebel brigades that broke with the internationally recognised National Coalition. Salim Idris, who commands the Free Syrian Army (FSA), said he would travel to Syria on Friday to meet fighters from the 13 groups which rejected the authority of the Turkey-based National Coalition. The rebel groups, including at least three considered to be under the FSA umbrella, called for the rebel forces to be reorganised under an Islamic framework and to be run only by groups fighting inside Syria. "We should deal wisely with their statement. I returned from France so as to follow up with the field commanders and work towards unifying all the ranks," Idris told Reuters news agency by telephone after arriving in Istanbul. The 30-month conflict in Syria has left more than 100,000 people dead. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies