Syria crisis: Russia urges
Assad to give up chemical
weapons 19 minutes ago Russia has asked Syria to put
its chemical weapons
stockpiles under international
control and then have them
destroyed, in an attempt to
avoid US military strikes. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said the offer was made during
talks with his Syrian
counterpart, Walid Muallem,
who welcomed the initiative. The US said it was sceptical,
but would have a "hard look" at
the plan. The US accuses Damascus of
war crimes, allegations denied
by the regime. US Secretary of State John
Kerry, in Europe to garner
support for the military action,
has once again warned that
taking no action is riskier than
launching strikes. When asked at a news
conference whether there was
anything Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad could do to
avoid military action, Mr Kerry
replied that he could hand over his entire stockpile of chemical
weapons within the next week. US officials subsequently
clarified that Mr Kerry was
making a "rhetorical
argument" rather than a
serious offer. However, Mr Lavrov later said
he had urged Mr Muallem
during talks in Moscow to "not
only agree on placing chemical
weapons storage sites under
international control, but also on their subsequent
destruction". He said he had also told Mr
Muallem that Syria should then
fully join the Chemical
Weapons Convention. Mr Muallem told reporters
through an interpreter that
Syria welcomed the Russian
initiative. He praised Russia for
"attempting to prevent
American aggression against
our people".

You can toy with US whether Russia or China sends cruise missile ships. The respect u but know their wot.