MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow rejects as “inadmissible” France’s draft UN Security Council resolution blaming the Syrian government for last month’s alleged chemical attack near Damascus, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the resolution in a phone conversation with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius on Tuesday
“Lavrov noted that France’s proposal to accept a Security Council resolution… blaming the Syrian authorities for the possible use of chemical weapons is inadmissible,” the ministry said in a statement.
The French foreign minister said that Paris was going to submit its draft resolution, demanding Damascus to place its stock of chemical weapons under international control. The resolution would also condemn the alleged August 21 attack and put the blame for it on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Fabius said the resolution would also demand those guilty to face trial by the International Criminal Court.
Russia will soon put forward a “workable” plan for placing Syrian chemical weapons under international control, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, following up on a day-old Russian proposal that has shifted the international debate on military intervention in war-torn Syria.
A day earlier, Lavrov announced that Moscow would push Damascus to accept an off-the-cuff proposal voiced Monday by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said a US strike against Syrian targets could be averted if Damascus put “every single bit” of its chemical weapons under international control by week’s end. Syria’s foreign minister, in Moscow for talks, responded by saying Damascus “welcomes” the Russian initiative.
Lavrov and Kerry would meet in Geneva on Thursday, Reuters reported late on Tuesday citing unnamed US officials.
Meanwhile, eight more countries joined a US declaration of support for strong measures to be taken by the international community against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons recently in the civil war there. The total number of signatories is 33 as of Tuesday midnight Moscow time.
The text of the declaration, supporting the United States in its possible action against Syria despite the absence of a UN mandate, was released by the White House last Friday.
