Syria crisis: Barack Obama calls off Congress vote


Syria conflict

US President Barack Obama has postponed a Congress vote on military action in Syria, vowing to pursue diplomacy to remove the regime's chemical weapons.

Damascus has admitted for the first time that it has chemical weapons, and has agreed to abide by a Russian plan to have the arsenal destroyed.

The US threatened strikes after a gas attack killed hundreds last month.
Mr Obama said the US military would respond if talks failed. Syria blames rebels for the attack near Damascus.

More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.
Russia announced the plan on Monday and Syria quickly responded, saying it "welcomed" the initiative.
 On the Syria issue, Russia seems to have kept one step ahead of the US. While President Obama has been accused of U-turns and zig-zags, of drawing red lines and being slow to act on them, President Putin has been as solid and unshakable as the Kremlin walls: consistently opposed to a US strike. The Kremlin's not for turning.

What's more, Russia believes that its message has been getting through and that its tough stance has helped dilute international support for US military action. Last week, the UN, the EU and the Vatican all expressed their support for a political solution.

Even if the Russian initiative eventually unravels amid bickering and paralysis in the Security Council, Moscow can still argue that at least it tried to find a peaceful solution.

Late on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem then made the fullest public admission of the regime's stockpile and a much clearer commitment to the Russian plan.

"We are ready to inform about the location of chemical weapons, halt the production of chemical weapons, and show these objects to representatives of Russia, other states and the United Nations," he said.

"Our adherence to the Russian initiative has a goal of halting the possession of all chemical weapons."
Until Tuesday morning, Mr Obama's government had been lobbying hard for support in Congress for military strikes.

But surveys of politicians had shown he was unlikely to win the planned vote.

In a televised speech from the White House, President Obama said the Russian plan and the regime's admission that it held chemical weapons were "encouraging signs".

"It's too early to tell whether [the Russian plan] will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments," he said.

Americans in Washington react to the speech

"But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad's strongest allies."

He said the diplomatic movements were in part a result of the credible threat of US military action, but that he was willing to postpone the Congress vote to allow diplomacy to be pursued.

Chemical weapons plan timeline

5-6 Sep: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama discuss idea of placing Syria's chemical weapons under international control on sidelines of G20 summit
9 Sep: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he has urged Syria to hand in chemical weapons and have them destroyed; Syria welcomes plan
10 Sep: Barack Obama postpones Congress vote on military action and says he will give Russian plan a chance
During his speech, Mr Obama restated the US position that Mr Assad's government was responsible for the 21 August attack, which he described as "sickening".

He said that such an attack was not only a violation of international law it was also a danger to US national security.

He confirmed earlier reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday, adding: "I will continue my own discussions with President Putin."

"I've spoken to the leaders of two of our closest allies, France and the United Kingdom. And we will work together in consultation with Russia and China to put forward a resolution at the UN Security Council requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control."

He added: "Meanwhile, I've ordered our military to maintain their current posture, to keep the pressure on Assad and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails."


The BBC's North America Editor Mark Mardell said the president's address was clear but almost entirely lacking in passion and devoid of new arguments.
There were heated debates at the UN all through Tuesday, with the UK, US and France calling for a timetable and the consequences of a Syrian failure to comply with any resolution spelt out.
Washington had warned it would "not fall for stalling tactics".

Russia said any draft resolution putting the blame on the Syrian government was unacceptable and urged a non-binding declaration backing its initiative.

UK government sources have told the BBC that the exact wording of the joint US, French and British resolution on Syria's chemical weapons is still to be agreed.

Source: BBC News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“I love Falcao and Cavani” – Wenger

Image
Arsene Wenger has reserved praise for strikers Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain) and Radamel Falcao (Monaco) and hailed them as two of the best in the world. However, the Arsenal manager feels Falcao is slightly better in front of goal, although Cavani is more mobile. The two strikers will come face to face this weekend, in a keenly anticipated Ligue 1 clash. “I believe it’s very difficult to make a difference because for me they are very similar. They have an animal aspect inside of them. Both of them are animals,” Wenger told Bein Sport. “I think Cavani is a bit more mobile, and makes more runs off the ball, and Falcao is a bit more of a box player, a bit more of a killer than Cavani. “But both of them, I love. And honestly, not to protect one or the other, but it’s very difficult to make a difference between the two.” Cavani has scored twice in the French league this season, since his summer move from Napoli, while Falcao has four
Read more

We are not part of Lagos APC – APGA

The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Lagos, has dissociated itself from the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC). It also warned members not to romance any other political party, saying such act would attract sanctions. The party in a statement issued and signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Sanjo Olawuyi, on Wednesday, said the Lagos State Chapter of APGA, under the leadership of Edwin Izuchukwu, is not in any alliance with the newly registered APC, stressing that it has total confidence in the leadership of Victor Umeh, National Chairman of the party. APGA further announced that it has suspended three members of the fold with immediate effect for defecting to the APC. The affected members are Adeshina Olayokun, Mrs Oby Ezenna and Mrs Funmilayo Onwubiko, who were until their suspension, executive members of the party in Lagos. According to Olawuyi, “Lagos APGA is known to be constitutional in its dealings, in line with this, five man di
Read more

ASUU strike update: Don’t send your children to school, we won’t teach them – Lecturers warn parents

Image
The battle between the Federal Government and the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has attained a new intensity following a 7-day ultimatum issued by the Presidency. Some of the striking lecturers have remained adamant despite the obvious waning in the resolve of their members evidenced by the withdrawing of some universities from the strike. The academic body has taken things even further by warning parents not to allow their wards resume in schools to avoid risking the lives of their children. Vanguard  reports : The Presidency, on its part accused ASUU leaders of treachery and warned the university lecturers not to dare the resolve of government to carry out its threat to sack them if they failed to resume. The Supervising Minister of Education, Mr Nyesom Wike last Thursday gave the lecturers a seven-day ultimatum to resume from their six-month strike or risk being sacked. President Goodluck Jonathan, however, clarified, weekend, in Bayelsa th
Read more