MORE ON SYRIA CRISIS - Syria hails Russia's chemical weapons plan - Syria 'welcomes' proposal to put chem weapons under international control

Syria hails Russia's chemical weapons plan

Syria embraces a proposal for Bashar al-Assad to put his chemical weapons under world control as the U.S. considers military action. FULL STORY

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MORE ON SYRIA CRISIS

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  Syria 'welcomes' proposal to put chem weapons under international control

  By Jamie Crawford, CNN National Security Producer

  September 9, 2013 -- Updated 1646 GMT (0046 HKT)
  A Free Syrian Army fighter stands on a damaged military tank in Zabadani near Damascus on Sunday, September 8. A rebel group provided the image to the Associated Press. More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since a popular uprising spiraled into a civil war in 2011, according to the United Nations. The Syrian government's suspected use of chemical weapons in a deadly August 21 attack has prompted the United States to urge military action against the regime. Click through to view the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.

  HIDE CAPTION

  Syrian civil war in photos

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  STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Russia made proposal as U.S. considers military strike for alleged chemical weapons use
  • Secretary of State John Kerry said Bashar al-Assad could prevent a strike by taking that step
  • State Department spokeswoman: Kerry was "making a rhetorical argument"
  • President Barack Obama seeking congressional support for military strike
  Washington (CNN) -- Syria on Monday embraced a Russian proposal for Bashar al-Assad to put his nation's chemical weapons under international control as part of an effort to head off a possible military strike from the United States over an alleged poison gas attack.
  
  Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told reporters in Moscow on Monday that his nation "welcomes" a statement from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said his country would urge Syria to take that step if it would avert a U.S. military response.
  "During our talks with Foreign Minister Lavrov this morning, he launched an initiative related to chemical weapons. I listened carefully to his statement this evening in regards to that. I declare that the Syrian Arab Republic welcomes Russia's initiative, on the basis that the Syrian leadership cares about the lives of our citizens and the security in our country. We are also confident in the wisdom of the Russian government, which is trying to prevent an American aggression against our people," Moallem said.
  The comments came as Secretary of State John Kerry also seemed to endorse a similar scenario.
  Syria's chemical weapons under control?
  Al-Assad denies responsibility for attack
  Assad "could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week," Kerry said during a news conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague. "But he isn't about to do it and it can't be done obviously."
  Latest developments
  Kerry made the remark in London during the final leg of a trip that also included stops in Lithuania and France.
  But the State Department sought to clarify Kerry's comment.
  "Secretary Kerry was making a rhetorical argument about the impossibility and unlikelihood of Assad turning over chemical weapons he has denied he used," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
  The Obama administration says the al-Assad government was responsible for the August 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus that it said killed more than 1,400 people.
  Hillary Clinton weighs in
  President Barack Obama is seeking congressional approval for a military strike in response but is so far meeting resistance from lawmakers and the public, concerned about the United States again intervening militarily in a foreign crisis.
  Syria has been engulfed in a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people over the past two years, according to U.N. estimates.
  Kerry's point "was that this brutal dictator with a history of playing fast and loose with the facts can not be trusted to turn over chemical weapons, otherwise he would have done so long ago," Psaki said. "That's why the world faces this moment."
  Kerry is due to participate in a classified briefing about Syria to members of the House of Representatives after his return from London later on Monday.
  U.N. chief: Chemical weapons in Syria would be 'abominable'
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