Syria
decided to cede control of its chemical weapons because of a Russian
proposal and not the threat of U.S. military intervention, Interfax news
agency quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying in a Russian
television interview.Syria is placing its chemical weapons under
international control because of Russia.
The U.S. threats did not
influence the decision, Interfax quoted Assad as telling Russias
state-run Rossiya-24 channel.Assad also told Rossiya-24 that Syria would
submit documents to the United Nations for an agreement governing the
handover of its chemical arsenal, state-run Russian news agency RIA
reported on Thursday.Rossiya-24 did not immediately air the interview
and it was not clear when it was recorded.The reports came hours before
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry were due to meet in Geneva to discuss the proposal, which Lavrov
announced on Monday, and Moscows plan for implementing it.Russian
President Vladimir Putin has said the initiative will not succeed unless
Washington abandons plans for potential air strikes to punish Assad for
an 21 August poison gas attack which U.S. President Barack Obama blames
on Syrian government forces.Syria, which denies it was behind that
attack, has agreed to Moscows proposal that it give up its chemical
weapons stocks, averting what would have been the first direct Western
intervention in a war that has killed more than 100,000 people.
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