Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov(L) with Syrian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister
Walid al-Muallem in Moscow, Monday.
RUSSIAN INITIATIVE ON
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
GETS WELCOME IN SYRIA:
An apparent slip of the tongue by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, seeming to give an ultimatum to Damascus to de-commission its chemical weapons stocks within one week was gazumped by Moscow with a request to Syria to put its Chem weapons under UN control and quickly welcomed by Syrian Deputy Premier, Walid al-Muallem, in Moscow for talks with Russian leaders.
Syria welcomed the
Russian proposal to place the nation's chemical weapons under international
control, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Monday after talks in
Moscow, praising the Kremlin for seeking to "prevent American aggression".
Muallem, who spoke to reporters through
an interpreter after Russia expressed hope the proposal could avert military
strikes against Syria, stopped short of saying explicitly that President Bashar
al-Assad's government accepted it.
"I state that the Syrian Arab Republic
welcomes the Russian initiative, motivated by the Syrian leadership's concern
for the lives of our citizens and the security of our country and also
motivated by our confidence in the wisdom of the Russian leadership, which is
attempting to prevent American aggression against our people," he said.
“We are calling on the Syrian authorities not
only to agree on putting chemical weapons storages under international control,
but also for its further destruction and then joining of the Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said earlier.
Moscow proposes Syria’s chemical disarmament in exchange
for peace:
After talks with Syrian Foreign Minister,
Walid al-Muallem, in Moscow, Lavrov called on Syria to "place the chemical
weapons under international control and then have them destroyed". “We
have passed our offer to Al-Muallem and hope to receive a fast and positive
answer,” Sergei Lavrov said.
If establishment of
control over chemical weapons in Syria can help avoid a strike, Russia will
immediately join it, Lavrov said at the press-conference. Moscow
will try to broker a deal in which Syria submits its chemical arsenal to
international control and the West drops plans to attack Syria, Lavrov added. Lavrov also said Moscow is already stoking up diplomacy to
this end.
The Russian initiative cuts across the real agenda of Washington which is to act for regime change in Damascus and eliminate a Government which has steadfastly resisted US imperialist actions in the Middle East:
"Obama is not listening to Americans,
Europeans or the UK Parliament. We thank the American people for standing
against striking Syria. We admire the American people who voice their protest
against military intervention," said Walid al-Muallem
during the meeting in Moscow.
"What are the real interests of the United
States behind launching this aggression? Why does US want to help those who are
behind 9/11? The US will be wrong to destroy army and help al-Qaeda,"
Walid al-Muallem said, adding that "We’re confident Russian efforts on
peace talks will stop strikes".
Aggression against Syria aims at weakening the military
potential of the Syrian army in the interest of al-Qaeda "But if such aggression against
Syria aims, as we suspect, to considerably weaken the military potential of the
Syrian army in the interest of al-Qaeda and various affiliated groups, then we
will raise our objections," he said. "Then we have the right to ask a
question about the genuine interests of the United States that wishes to
unleash an attack on the behalf of Jabhat al-Nusra and similar groups,"
the Syrian minister stressed.
US Senate delays vote on Syria:
The US Senate was set to vote on Wednesday whether to authorise President Obama to use "limited military action" against Syria. But, following a day of debates, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would not file for a test vote on a resolution to strike Syria.
"I'm not going to file closure this evening on the motion to proceed to the Syria resolution," he said on the Senate floor.
"Tomorrow the president is going to brief the Democratic caucus and the Republican caucus separately." "He's going to address the nation tomorrow night. As we all know, the international discussions continue relative to the matter in Syria. Normally, what I would do in a situation like this is file cloture today. But I don't think that's to our benefit. I don't think we need to see how fast we can do this. We have to see how well we can do this matter," Reid continued.
Meanwhile across the US, Peace activists continued to mount protest demonstrations against the Obama/Kerry insane war plans. On Saturday, demonstrations were held in all major cities in the country adding to the telephone and social media pressure on Senators and Congress members not to vote for War in the coming debates. In one district in the State of Maryland the voters were 97% against any military intervention in Syria.
Anti-War protesters at the White house on Saturday
The bumbling incompetence of Obama/Kerry's conduct of US foreign policy has shocked NATO allies and is partly the reason why German Chancellor, Angela Merkel refused to sign the communique supporting the US line at the end of the G20 Summit in Petersburg, Russia, last week and French President, Francois Hollande pulled back from supporting a US military strike on Syria as well.
"Mutti Merkel" as she is colloquially described, wears the trousers, literally, as well as politically as she governs from her little palace, the Bundeskanzler Amt, a few hundred yards West of the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin.
On Sunday, Mrs Merkel criticised the timing of the statement and said she wanted to get all 28 EU members on board before signing.
"I don't believe it's right for five countries to agree on a united stance without the other 23 that can't be there, knowing that 24 hours later all 28 will be gathering around the same table." Merkel, who is seeking re-election in two weeks' time, told a campaign rally in western Germany. "That's why I said, 'Let's see to it that we have a united stance by all 28.'"
The remarks were a veiled criticism of Britain, France, Italy and Spain, the four EU countries that signed the G20 statement on Friday.
Neither the G20 statement nor the EU statement - issued after a meeting attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry - called for military intervention.
See also: "Berlin protests Obama Spynet" here:
"I'm not going to file closure this evening on the motion to proceed to the Syria resolution," he said on the Senate floor.
"Tomorrow the president is going to brief the Democratic caucus and the Republican caucus separately." "He's going to address the nation tomorrow night. As we all know, the international discussions continue relative to the matter in Syria. Normally, what I would do in a situation like this is file cloture today. But I don't think that's to our benefit. I don't think we need to see how fast we can do this. We have to see how well we can do this matter," Reid continued.
Meanwhile across the US, Peace activists continued to mount protest demonstrations against the Obama/Kerry insane war plans. On Saturday, demonstrations were held in all major cities in the country adding to the telephone and social media pressure on Senators and Congress members not to vote for War in the coming debates. In one district in the State of Maryland the voters were 97% against any military intervention in Syria.
The bumbling incompetence of Obama/Kerry's conduct of US foreign policy has shocked NATO allies and is partly the reason why German Chancellor, Angela Merkel refused to sign the communique supporting the US line at the end of the G20 Summit in Petersburg, Russia, last week and French President, Francois Hollande pulled back from supporting a US military strike on Syria as well.
"Mutti Merkel" as she is colloquially described, wears the trousers, literally, as well as politically as she governs from her little palace, the Bundeskanzler Amt, a few hundred yards West of the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin.
With the United States seeking to rally international support for
military strikes on Syria in the wake of what it says was a deadly chemical
attack by the regime on August 21,only four EU countries signed the statement.
On Sunday, Mrs Merkel criticised the timing of the statement and said she wanted to get all 28 EU members on board before signing.
"I don't believe it's right for five countries to agree on a united stance without the other 23 that can't be there, knowing that 24 hours later all 28 will be gathering around the same table." Merkel, who is seeking re-election in two weeks' time, told a campaign rally in western Germany. "That's why I said, 'Let's see to it that we have a united stance by all 28.'"
The remarks were a veiled criticism of Britain, France, Italy and Spain, the four EU countries that signed the G20 statement on Friday.
Neither the G20 statement nor the EU statement - issued after a meeting attended by US Secretary of State John Kerry - called for military intervention.
See also: "Berlin protests Obama Spynet" here:
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