Democracy Now!
As President Obama prepares to address the nation on his push for congressional backing of a military strike on Syria, the Assad regime has accepted a Russian initiative to put its chemical weapons under international control. Could the move stop a U.S. strike and bring the Syrian crisis closer to a diplomatic resolution? We host a debate on how to resolve the Syrian conflict between Rafif Jouejati of the Syrian Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists throughout Syria, and Rania Masri, Lebanese-based human rights activist and professor at the University of Balamand in Lebanon.
Transcript (Full)
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AARON MATÉ: We begin with Syria. Syria’s foreign minister has announced Syria has accepted a Russian proposal to surrender control over its chemical weapons. France responded by saying it would ask the U.N. Security Council to approve a resolution demanding that Syria place its chemical arms under international control. The Russian initiative was apparently sparked by remarks made by Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday about what Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could do to prevent a U.S. attack.
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY: Sure. He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week—turn it over, all of it, without delay—and allow a full and total accounting for that. But he isn’t about to do it, and it can’t be done, obviously.
AARON MATÉ: That was Secretary of State John Kerry speaking on Monday in London. A short while later in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared before reporters and seized on Kerry’s remarks.
FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEY LAVROV: [translated] We don’t know if Syria agrees to it, but if putting chemical weapons in this country under international control averts the military strikes, then we will immediately get to work on this with Damascus. We also call on the Syrian leadership not only to put chemical weapons storage facilities under international control, but also to destroy it afterwards.
AMY GOODMAN: While Syria’s foreign minister has announced Syria will accept the Russian proposal to surrender control over its chemical weapons, Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, dismissed the initiative as a diplomatic trick, saying it would “allow the regime to cause more death and destruction in Syria.”
In Washington, D.C., the State Department appeared to walk back Kerry’s statement, saying he was making a “hypothetical,” “rhetorical argument.” But as the day wore on, President Obama said he is open to exploring Russia’s proposal, and confirmed he had discussed it with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit last week. Speaking to PBS News, Obama said the Russian offer could mark a breakthrough, so long as it’s backed by the threat of military force.
