Russia-US Agreement on Syria: Challenge Enormous, but We Can Do it Together

Russia-US Agreement on Syria: Challenge Enormous, but We Can Do it Together

Andrei AKULOV | 16.09.2013 | 00:00

A framework document agreed by the US and Russia on September 14  stipulates that Syria must provide a full inventory of its chemical weapons in one week. The production equipment is to be destroyed by November and all weapons must be removed from Syria or destroyed by mid-2014. If Syria fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a UN resolution with the use of force as a last resort.  China, the UK, France the UN and NATO have all expressed satisfaction at the agreement. The both sides confirmed that a UN resolution could be sought under Chapter VII of the UN charter, which allows for the use of force, if Syria fails to comply. But US officials say the President reserves the right to act without the agreement of the UN. However Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said force remained a last-ditch option. According to him, "Naturally, no use of force is mentioned in these agreed approaches. Nor are any automatic sanctions mentioned. Any violations must be convincingly and unambiguously proven in the UN Security Council." The Russia-US Agreement on Syriais a daunting challenge. Never in the history of disarmament anything like this has been achieved within the framework assigned, especially under the conditions of raging war.  Actually, to large degree, we face the prospect of a leap into the unknown.