Breakthrough? Syria Hints It Might Give Up Chemical Weapons

(We most recently updated this post at 10:55 a.m. ET.)

Amid reports that Syrian President Bashar Assad may be willing to give up his chemical weapons as his strongest ally has suggested he do, the Obama administration expressed skepticism Tuesday.

But the administration also said it would wait to see what sort of diplomatic solution Syria and “its Russian patrons” come up with.

Additional Information:

A Quick Look At The Latest Developments

Update at 10:50 a.m. ET. Sen. McConnell Is Opposed:

Saying that President Obama has displayed “timid, reluctant leadership,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that he will oppose the president’s request that Congress pass a resolution supporting the use of force against the Assad regime.

Update at 10:30 a.m. ET. “We’re Not Waiting For Long,” Kerry Says:

On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry told a House Armed Services Committee hearing that “throughout this process,” the president’s first priority has been to push for a diplomatic solution. But, said Kerry, “our diplomatic hand only becomes stronger if other countries know America is speaking with one voice” and that Obama has the support of Congress.

Of a Russian plan to have Syria turn over its chemical weapons to international monitors, Kerry said, “We’re waiting for the proposal, but we’re not waiting for long.” It cannot be a way to delay holding Assad accountable, he said, and must provide for “real, measurable, tangible” results.

“We’re not going to fall for stalling tactics,” Kerry added.

Update at 9:10 a.m. ET. White House Wants To See Some Follow-Through:

Commenting on the reports that the Assad regime has accepted Russia’s suggestion that it give up its chemical weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney told MSNBC Tuesday morning that “we need to make sure … that the Syrians are serious and will actually follow through on a commitment to give up a chemical weapons stockpile that they’ve been husbanding for decades.”

“There is ample reason to be skeptical,” Carney added. He also said President Obama will press forward with his effort to win Congressional approval for possible military action against Assad. It is the threat of such action, said Carney, that has led to a “possible” diplomatic breakthrough.

Reminders:

— President Obama speaks to the nation Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. We’ll be streaming NPR’s coverage and we’ll be live-blogging. The address will also be carried on the major TV news networks and on WhiteHouse.gov.

— A Senate vote on the president’s request for support of taking military action against the Assad regime, which had been expected to happen on Wednesday, has been postponed indefinitely.

Meanwhile, France will put a resolution before the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that calls on Syria to hand them over to international monitors and “accept that they will be dismantled,” France 24 reports.

Word about the resolution came from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who said the resolution would force the Assad regime to “reveal and dismantle its chemical weapons stockpile,” place it under international control and face “serious consequences” for non-compliance.

The French plan follows the dramatic events of Monday, which as NPR’s Corey Flintoff explained on Morning Edition, began when Secretary of State John Kerry said Assad might be able to head off a U.S. military strike if he turns over “every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week.”

Within hours of Kerry’s comment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was saying he had urged his Syrian counterpart to do that. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem then said his nation welcomed the Russian suggestion. Finally, President Obama capped the day by telling U.S. TV networks that he favors a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Among the unknowns as Tuesday began: How the French resolution will or won’t compare to the idea floated by Lavrov; the details of just what Syria has supposedly accepted; and whether Assad would abide by whatever language and potential requirements are in the French resolution.

Now, along with the news about the resolution that France will put before the Security Council — which might win support from Russia and China — there’s word from Russia’s Interfax news agency that “Syria accepts” the Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control.

The Russian news outlet RT.com reports that, according to Interfax, the Syrian foreign minister said Tuesday that “we accepted Russia’s initiative.”

The Associated Press quotes the minister as saying Syria hopes its decision will “uproot U.S. aggression.”

From the White House on Tuesday morning, spokesman Jay Carney told MSNBC that “we need to make sure … that the Syrians are serious and will actually follow through on a commitment to give up a chemical weapons stockpile that they’ve been husbanding for decades.”

“There is ample reason to be skeptical,” Carney added. He also said President Obama will press forward with his effort to win congressional approval for possible military action against Assad. It is the threat of such action, said Carney, that has led to a “possible” diplomatic breakthrough. A Senate vote on the president’s request, which had been set for Wednesday, was postponed after word surfaced of the Russian plan.

On Capitol Hill, Kerry told a House Armed Services Committee hearing that convened at mid-morning that “throughout this process,” the president’s first priority has been to push for a diplomatic solution. But, said Kerry, “our diplomatic hand only becomes stronger if other countries know America is speaking with one voice” and that Obama has the support of Congress.

Of the Russian plan regarding Syria’s chemical weapons, Kerry said, “We’re waiting for the proposal, but we’re not waiting for long.” It cannot be a way to delay holding Assad accountable, he said, and must provide for “real, measurable, tangible” results.

“We’re not going to fall for stalling tactics,” Kerry added.

As Kerry was testifying, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced he will oppose the president’s request for support.

“A vital national security risk is clearly not at play,” McConnell says in remarks prepared for delivery on the Senate floor, “there are just too many unanswered questions about our long-term strategy in Syria, including the fact that this proposal is utterly detached from a wider strategy to end the civil war there, and on the specific question of deterring the use of chemical weapons, the president’s proposal appears to be based on a contradiction. Either we will strike targets that threaten the stability of the regime — something the President says he does not intend to do — or we will execute a strike so narrow as to be a mere demonstration.”

The Republican leader in the House, Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, said last week that he will support the president’s request.

President Obama is set to address the nation at 9 p.m. ET. While he’s expected to again make his case for taking military action against Syria, he’s also now expected to address these latest diplomatic developments.

Meanwhile, on CBS This Morning, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he is “very skeptical” about reports that Assad’s regime has accepted Russia’s proposal. “We should be [skeptical],” said McCain, who favors a military response to Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons. “Assad has refused to acknowledge that he even has chemical weapons.”

Still, McCain added, perhaps Assad wouldn’t even consider accepting such a plan “if it hadn’t been for the threat of a military strike.”

The Obama administration says intelligence gathered about an attack near Damascus last month indicates that forces loyal to Assad were behind the launching of missiles carrying deadly sarin gas. The administration says it believes more than 1,400 people were killed and even more were injured.

On Tuesday, the independent organization Human Rights Watch issued a report saying it has concluded that “available evidence strongly suggests that Syrian government forces were responsible.”

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
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Breakthrough? Syria Hints It Might Give Up Chemical Weapons

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