Resolution on Syria to be judged on results: Israel
17 Sept 2013 4:43 AM IST
Israel on Sunday said that US-Russia deal on Syrian chemical weapons would be judged by its ‘result’ as US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived here on day-long trip to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss latest diplomatic developments. Netanyahu expressed hopes that the US-Russian deal to remove Syrian chemical weapons would lead to ‘complete destruction’ of the arsenal.
‘We hope the understandings reached between the United States and Russia regarding the Syrian chemical weapons will yield results,’ the Israeli Premier said in a speech at a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
‘These understandings will be judged by their result - the complete destruction of all of the chemical weapons stockpiles that the Syrian regime has used against its own people,’ he said. Kerry and Netanyahu briefly met in Jerusalem on Sunday during which the US Secretary of State briefed the Israeli leader on the deal, Army Radio reported.
Although Kerry’s one-day trip to Israel was planned before the announcement of the US-Russian deal, and was originally to focus primarily on the Palestinian diplomatic track, it is now expected to deal primarily with the Geneva agreement. The US’ top diplomat had met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London last week while his planned meeting with Netanyahu in Rome last week had to be cancelled because of the Syrian situation.
Meanwhile, wary of international pressures that Israel may also be asked to submit to UN supervision of its chemical weapons after Syria, the Jewish state remains adamant that it will not ratify chemical arms treaty as long as other states in the region refuse to recognise it.
Russian officials during recent weeks have repeatedly drawn a connection between Syria’s chemical weapons and Israeli military capabilities, something that has not gone unnoticed among officials here. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Syria’s chemical weapons exist as a response to Israeli military capabilities, while his ambassador to Paris told Radio France that Damascus’ chemical weapons were meant to preserve its balance of deterrence against ‘nuclear’ Israel.
‘We hope the understandings reached between the United States and Russia regarding the Syrian chemical weapons will yield results,’ the Israeli Premier said in a speech at a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
‘These understandings will be judged by their result - the complete destruction of all of the chemical weapons stockpiles that the Syrian regime has used against its own people,’ he said. Kerry and Netanyahu briefly met in Jerusalem on Sunday during which the US Secretary of State briefed the Israeli leader on the deal, Army Radio reported.
Although Kerry’s one-day trip to Israel was planned before the announcement of the US-Russian deal, and was originally to focus primarily on the Palestinian diplomatic track, it is now expected to deal primarily with the Geneva agreement. The US’ top diplomat had met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London last week while his planned meeting with Netanyahu in Rome last week had to be cancelled because of the Syrian situation.
Meanwhile, wary of international pressures that Israel may also be asked to submit to UN supervision of its chemical weapons after Syria, the Jewish state remains adamant that it will not ratify chemical arms treaty as long as other states in the region refuse to recognise it.
Russian officials during recent weeks have repeatedly drawn a connection between Syria’s chemical weapons and Israeli military capabilities, something that has not gone unnoticed among officials here. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Syria’s chemical weapons exist as a response to Israeli military capabilities, while his ambassador to Paris told Radio France that Damascus’ chemical weapons were meant to preserve its balance of deterrence against ‘nuclear’ Israel.
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