UN accepts Syria’s chemical arms treaty application
United Nations: The United Nations has accepted Syria’s application to join the chemical weapons convention, with its chief Ban Ki-moon pledging support to implement a deal reached by Russia and the US in this regard. Syria applied on Thursday to join the convention, which bans the production and stockpiling of chemical weapons and orders the destruction of existing stocks. But UN lawyers asked Syria for detail data before it could be accepted. ‘The Secretary-General, in his capacity as the depositary of the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, yesterday received the formal instrument of accession to the Convention by Syria,’ a UN spokesperson said.
Syria rebels voice disdain for Obama, world powers over deal
Aleppo: Rebel fighters have expressed disdain for US President Barack Obama after he backed away from striking over alleged chemical weapons attacks, saying the world does not care about Syria. Leaders of two rebel brigades in the northern city of Aleppo, speaking to AFP after agreeing to join forces, also accused Russia and the regime of Bashar al-Assad of conspiring to buy time for the Syrian president to press his campaign against those seeking to overthrow him. They were speaking as the United States and Russia hammered out a deal, based on proposals by Moscow, to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014 and leaving the door open to sanctions if Damascus fails to comply. ‘America told the world it would bomb Syria and then, when the time came, it got scared,’ said Abdelqaderi Asasheh, operations chief of the Liwa al-Tawhid brigade in Aleppo. The battalion’s commander, Abdulaziz Salameh, was even more scathing about the United States. While accusing Russia and Syria of ‘devising a perfect plan to put a stop to an attack by the West,’ he said ‘Obama has shown himself not to be a man of honour, without anything to say.’
Obama rejects Putin’s claim on Syria chemical weapons attack
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Syrian rebels were responsible for an 21 August chemical gas attack but, in an interview broadcast on Sunday, he welcomed Putin’s diplomatic role in the crisis.Obama, in an interview on ABC’s ‘This Week With George Stephanopolous’, defended his handling of the Syria crisis and dismissed criticism of his zig-zag approach to the issue as an argument about style.Obama also said he and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had exchanged letters about the situation in Syria and that the Iranians understand the US concern about a potential nuclear-armed Iran ‘is a far larger issue’ for the United States. Obama said he welcomed Putin’s involvement as helpful and said any deal on Syria must include a verifiable way to ensure that it gives up all its chemical weapons capacity.
United Nations: The United Nations has accepted Syria’s application to join the chemical weapons convention, with its chief Ban Ki-moon pledging support to implement a deal reached by Russia and the US in this regard. Syria applied on Thursday to join the convention, which bans the production and stockpiling of chemical weapons and orders the destruction of existing stocks. But UN lawyers asked Syria for detail data before it could be accepted. ‘The Secretary-General, in his capacity as the depositary of the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, yesterday received the formal instrument of accession to the Convention by Syria,’ a UN spokesperson said.
Syria rebels voice disdain for Obama, world powers over deal
Aleppo: Rebel fighters have expressed disdain for US President Barack Obama after he backed away from striking over alleged chemical weapons attacks, saying the world does not care about Syria. Leaders of two rebel brigades in the northern city of Aleppo, speaking to AFP after agreeing to join forces, also accused Russia and the regime of Bashar al-Assad of conspiring to buy time for the Syrian president to press his campaign against those seeking to overthrow him. They were speaking as the United States and Russia hammered out a deal, based on proposals by Moscow, to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014 and leaving the door open to sanctions if Damascus fails to comply. ‘America told the world it would bomb Syria and then, when the time came, it got scared,’ said Abdelqaderi Asasheh, operations chief of the Liwa al-Tawhid brigade in Aleppo. The battalion’s commander, Abdulaziz Salameh, was even more scathing about the United States. While accusing Russia and Syria of ‘devising a perfect plan to put a stop to an attack by the West,’ he said ‘Obama has shown himself not to be a man of honour, without anything to say.’
Obama rejects Putin’s claim on Syria chemical weapons attack
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Syrian rebels were responsible for an 21 August chemical gas attack but, in an interview broadcast on Sunday, he welcomed Putin’s diplomatic role in the crisis.Obama, in an interview on ABC’s ‘This Week With George Stephanopolous’, defended his handling of the Syria crisis and dismissed criticism of his zig-zag approach to the issue as an argument about style.Obama also said he and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had exchanged letters about the situation in Syria and that the Iranians understand the US concern about a potential nuclear-armed Iran ‘is a far larger issue’ for the United States. Obama said he welcomed Putin’s involvement as helpful and said any deal on Syria must include a verifiable way to ensure that it gives up all its chemical weapons capacity.