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Middle East and North Africa

Assad: Syria ready to give up chemical weapons as proposed by Russia

Damascus to pass all documents needed to join Chemical Weapons Convention to UN

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

CAIRO, September 12 (Itar-Tass) - Syria has agreed to transfer the country’s chemical weapons under international control “in response to Russia’s initiative and not over the fear of U.S. aggressive threats,” the TV channel Rossiya 24 quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as saying on Thursday.

“Damascus will pass all documents needed for the country to join the Chemical Weapons Convention in the United Nations Organization,” the Syrian leader said.

He suggested that the U.S. rethinks its military plans regarding Syria, which “use an imaginary reason to attack the country.”

Late Thursday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was scheduled to meet with his American counterpart John Kerry in order to discuss the Syrian situation. The talks are expected to continue until Friday, perhaps even Saturday.

The UN and Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will hold separate meetings in Geneva with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the envoy’s press secretary Khawla Mattar told Itar-Tass on Thursday, adding that most like the meeting with Russian side will be held Friday.

Earlier this week Russia urged Syria to place chemical weapons under international control. “We do not know whether Syria will agree to this, but if such international control over chemical weapons in that country helps avoid the strikes, we will start working with Damascus immediately,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday, September 9. Foreign officials mostly supported this idea.

Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad assured that “Syria was ready to join the Chemical Weapons Convention at once in compliance with requests of friends in Russia. This is purely a technical issue.”

Meanwhile, the European Parliam has adopted a resolution, which calls on Bashar Al-Assad to step down “and pave the way for a democratic transition;” EU member-states are urge “to live up to their humanitarian responsibilities and to increase their assistance to Syrian refugees.”

Currently patriotic Syrians are marching on the streets of Damascus, expressing their support for Bashar Al-Assad and his program of peacefully resolving the crisis. Thousands of students organized through social networks to rally and express their opposition to military initiatives voiced by the U.S.

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