Leading MP: Russia, U.S. May See Syria Accord Differently
Russia and the United States may have "different interpretations" of the accord on dismantling Syria's chemical weapons, a prominent Russian lawmaker warned Sunday.
"The main question now is to see whether the Syrian settlement becomes the subject of different, even opposite, interpretations in the United States and Russia," said Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the lower house Duma's foreign affairs committee.
In remarks to the Interfax news agency, Pushkov also said the deal reached Saturday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was a "success for Russian diplomacy.”
And he added: "The United States can no longer play first violin. It has been deprived to some extent of its military advantage."
Pushkov noted however that Washington could still revive its military threats.
Lavrov and Kerry on Saturday concluded three days of talks in Geneva with an ambitious agreement to dismantle and destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal by mid-2014.
It gives Syrian President Bashar Assad a week to hand over details of his regime's stockpile of the internationally banned arms in order to avert unspecified sanctions and the threat of U.S.-led military strikes.
If Damascus fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a U.N. resolution with the use of force as a last resort.
Source: Agence France Presse
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