US and Russia reach deal on Syria weapons

GENEVA -- Syria has been given a week to declare its stock of chemical weapons, and must allow international inspections, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said after talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The demands are part of a six-point plan on eliminating the stockpiles, agreed on Saturday by the US and Russia after three days of negotiations in Geneva. Speaking at a joint news conference with Lavrov, Kerry said that weapons inspectors should be on the ground in Syria by November with the goal of eliminating President Bashar al-Assad’s stockpiles by mid-2014. “Providing this framework is fully implemented it can end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but also to their neighbours,” Kerry said. “Because of the threat of proliferation this framework can provide greater protection and security to the world. “The world will now expect Assad’s regime to live up to its commitments... There can be no room for games. Or anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime,” he added. Kerry and Lavrov said Syria must comply with the agreed deal and that any failure would result in a Security Council resolution. Lavrov said their decision was based upon “consensus and compromise”, pointing out that the deal contained nothing about the potential use of force if Syria fails to comply. But Kerry said there was no pre-agreement on what action the Security Council would take if Syria failed to comply with the plan, which envisages a complete destruction of its chemical weapons by mid-2014. The agreement was criticised by General Salim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army, the main armed opposition group. “We cannot accept any part of this initiative,” he said. “The FSA will work towards toppling Assad and does not care about US-Russia deals. “I and my brothers in arms will continue to fight until the regime falls.” He added that the FSA was “frustrated, and feels betrayed by the international community. It has no faith the UN will ever support it”. The US accuses the Assad regime of killing 1,429 people in a chemical assault on a suburb of Damascus on August 21. Assad denies involvement in the attack. The US at first pushed for military action against Assad, but later agreed to try to find a diplomatic solution after the intervention of Assad’s ally, Russia. The US-Russia deal could also pave the way for the resumption of peace talks to end the civil war, now in its third year. More than 100,000 people have been killed, and millions have fled to other countries or to safer areas within Syria. Agencies