Russia and the United States put aside bitter differences over Syria to strike a deal on Saturday that by destroying President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical arsenal may avert U.S. military action against him.
The agreement after three days of talks in Geneva between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demands that Assad give a full account of his secret stockpile within a week.
International inspectors would rapidly get to work to eliminate all the weapons by the middle of next year – an “ambitious” target, in Kerry’s words.
If Syria reneges on a commitment to comply, Washington and Moscow pledged to cooperate at the United Nations to impose penalties – though these remain to be determined and Russia is highly unlikely to support military action, which U.S. President Barack Obama has said must remain an option.
Kerry said Obama retained the right to attack, with or without U.N. backing.
For Assad’s opponents, who two weeks ago were expecting U.S. air strikes at any moment in response to a poison gas attack on rebel territory last month, the deal was a big disappointment.
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