US and Russia agree deal to destroy Syria chemical weapons and promise UN sanctions if Assad fails to hand them over

America and Russia yesterday agreed a deal to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons and promised UN sanctions if President Bashar al-Assad fails to comply.

Syria must hand over a complete list of its estimated 1,000 tons of chemical weapons within a week, leading to their complete destruction in the first half of 2014 in the deal agreed by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Assad

Assad will be told to give full access to international weapons inspectors as they search for stockpiles of deadly substances such as sarin – which experts believe caused more than 1,400 deaths in an attack on Damascus last month.

Speaking in Geneva, Kerry said: ‘There can be no games, no room for avoidance, or anything less than full compliance.’

Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the agreement and called on Russia to ensure the success of the deal.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, shake hands yesterday after making a deal over Syria following three days of negotiations

‘The international community, including Russia, must hold the regime to account.

'The priority must now be a full and prompt implementation of the agreement,’ he said.

It estimated Assad holds about 1,000 tons of chemical agents and precursors. Details of these must be provided by September 21.

Their removal will be supervised by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Teams of UN and OPCW inspectors are expected to begin their searches in November, with the Syrian regime responsible for their security.

The US and Russia remain divided over military action should Assad fail to comply.

At yesterday’s press conference, Lavrov insisted that the agreement reached with  the US ‘said nothing about the use of force, all violations should be approved by the Security Council’.

Source : Daily Mail