Putin's initiative won • Agreement with Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced today (Saturday) they came to an agreement about the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons by mid next year.

According to the arrangement, the parties must agree on the amount and type of chemical weapons in the hands of the Syrian regime and to put it "quickly" under international supervision. Syria must tranfer within a week a list of chemical weapons dumps which it holds.

So too, Syria must allow international inspectors "immediate and free" access to all the chemical sites and must destroy all chemical arsenals, including those for which there is concern they were smuggled out of the country.

UN will provide a logistical framework and ensure compliance by Syria.

Kerry added that President Obama, in his capacity as commander of the armed forces, has the right to protect the U.S. and its interests regardless of developments in Congress. "The threat of using force remained on the Security Council table or on the table of the U.S. and its allies. Everything depends on what Assad will do".

Kerry is expected to arrive in Israel tomorrow to update the Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, on details of the agreement and from there will continue to meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

The deal was announced on the third day of contacts between Kerry to Lavrov in the Geneva Conference. "The world can now expect Assad to stand up to his public obligations," Kerry declared, "There can not be playing, there will be no evasions, or anything that is not full compliance with the requirements of the Assad regime. If this framework is fully implemented, it will put an end to the threat posed by these weapons, not only for the Syrian people but also to neighboring countries and the region, and due to the fear of escaping - this program can provide better protection to the entire world."

An American source said after a press conference in Washington that they believe Syria has 45 sites related to chemical weapons program and that half of them have available chemical weapons. It is estimated Assad has 1,000 tons of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and sarine gas reservoirs.

Shortly before the announcement of Kerry and Lavrov, President Barack Obama said he was willing to give a chance to diplomatic negotiations on chemical weapons in Syria, but he urged the international community to stay alert in case those fail. "We will not treat statements made by Russia and Assad as facts. We must see concrete steps which will demonstrate that Assad is serious about giving up these weapons," he said.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!