Syria Hails Chemical Arms Deal as 'Victory', Vows to Comply with U.N. Security Council
A U.S.-Russian plan to remove Syria's chemical weapons is a "victory" that averts a war, a Syrian minister said Sunday.
"On one hand, it helps the Syrians emerge from the crisis and on the other it has allowed for averting war against Syria...," Minister of State for National Reconciliation Ali Haidar told Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
"It's a victory for Syria that was achieved thanks to our Russian friends."
Meanwhile, a high-ranking Syrian official told Agence France Presse on Sunday that Damascus views as "satisfying" the U.S.-Russian deal.
"Syria has always believed that a good agreement is a win-win agreement, and this is the case with the Geneva agreement,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
"The ones who refused the initiative are (U.S. Senators) John McCain, Lindsay Graham, Israel, the Turkish government and Bandar" bin Sultan, who heads the Saudi intelligence services, said the official.
"They are all the same group, really. And from day one, they (have) wanted the destruction of Syria, while Russia, China and the Syrian government want a political solution," he added.
The U.S. senators, Ankara, the Jewish state, Riyadh and Syrian opposition have called for a strike against President Bashar Assad's regime after accusing it of using chemical weapons near Damascus last month.
"We are absolutely sincere in accepting the Russian initiative," insisted the official.
He said the chemical deal could put Damascus back on the road to peace if it is coupled with an accord to cut off the supply of weapons to foreign-backed rebels who have been fighting the regime since March 2011.
"In parallel with question of chemical arms, the whole world must work together to halt the influx of arms and mercenaries to Syria," he said.
On Saturday, Kerry and Lavrov announced a deal that would see Damascus' chemical stockpile handed to international supervision and destroyed by mid-2014.
"We are happy with our partnership with Russia," the official said, referring to Damascus' key backer.
Later on Sunday, Syria's information minister said Damascus will commit to the U.S.-Russian plan once it has United Nations approval, adding that the regime had already begun preparing relevant documents.
"Syria is committing itself to whatever comes from the U.N.," Omran al-Zohbi told British TV network ITN. "We accept the Russian plan to get rid of our chemical weapons. In fact we've started preparing our list.
"We are already documenting our papers and we have started to do our job," he added. "We don't waste time."
Syria will implement the U.S.-Russian deal when it "turns into something more concrete" following a U.N. Security Council vote, Zohbi said.
"For 40 years Syria has always been trusted once it has committed itself."
Zohbi vowed that war-torn Syria would "absolutely" grant access to weapons inspectors, saying the country "respects and honors what it says."
"We take this agreement very seriously," the minister said.
Washington is seeking to bolster international support for the agreement inked in Geneva on Saturday, which demands action from Damascus within days.
The ambitious plan to dismantle and destroy Syria's chemical arms stockpile -- one of the largest in the world -- by mid-2014 was thrashed out during three days of talks in Geneva between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
It gives Assad a week to hand over details of his regime's arsenal of the internationally banned arms in order to avert unspecified sanctions and the threat of U.S.-led military strikes.
It also specifies there must be immediate access for arms control experts and that inspections of what the U.S. says is some 45 sites linked to the Syrian chemical weapons program must be completed by November.
Source: Agence France Presse
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