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U.S. and Russia Reach Deal to Secure Syria’s Chemical Arms Deal Reached to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Arsenal
(about 7 hours later)
GENEVA — The United States and Russia have reached an agreement that calls for Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons to be removed or destroyed by the middle of 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday. GENEVA — The United States and Russia reached a sweeping agreement on Saturday that called for Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons to be removed or destroyed by the middle of 2014 and indefinitely stalled the prospect of American airstrikes.
Under a “framework” agreement, international inspectors must be on the ground in Syria by November, Mr. Kerry said, speaking at a news conference with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey V. Lavrov. However, the joint announcement, on the third day of intensive talks in Geneva, also set the stage for one of the most challenging undertakings in the history of arms control.
An immediate test of the viability of the accord will come within a week when the Syrian government is to provide a “comprehensive listing” of its chemical stockpile. “This situation has no precedent,” said Amy E. Smithson, an expert on chemical weapons at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “They are cramming what would probably be five or six years’ worth of work into a period of several months, and they are undertaking this in an extremely difficult security environment due to the ongoing civil war.”
“The real final responsibility here is Syrian,” a senior administration official said of the deal. Although the agreement explicitly includes the United Nations Security Council for the first time in determining possible international action in Syria, Russia has maintained its opposition to any military action.
Security will be a major worry for the inspectors who are tasked with implementing the agreement; no precedent exists for inspection, removal and destruction of a large chemical weapons stockpile during a raging civil war. Mr. Lavrov said the agreement would require the cooperation of Syrian rebels and not just the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Much of the Syrian opposition is bitter about President Obama’s decision to shelve the threat of military action and to negotiate with Russia, which is a major arms supplier to the Assad government. But George Little, the Pentagon press secretary, emphasized that the possibility of unilateral American military force was still on the table. “We haven’t made any changes to our force posture to this point,” Mr. Little said. “The credible threat of military force has been key to driving diplomatic progress, and it’s important that the Assad regime lives up to its obligations under the framework agreement.”
“This is very, very difficult, very, very difficult,” an American official said of the agreement. “But it is doable.” In Syria, the state news agency, SANA, voiced cautious approval of the Russian and American deal, calling it “a starting point,” though the government issued no immediate statement about its willingness to implement the agreement.
At the news conference, Mr. Kerry said that “if fully implemented, this framework can provide greater protection and security to the world.” In any case, the deal represented at least a temporary reprieve for President Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian government, and it formally placed international decision-making about Syria into the purview of Russia, one of Mr. Assad’s staunchest supporters and military suppliers.
If Mr. Assad fails to comply with the agreement, the issue will be referred to the United Nations Security Council. That reality was bitterly seized on by the fractured Syrian rebel forces, most of which have pleaded for American airstrikes. Gen. Salim Idris, the head of the Western-backed rebels’ nominal military command, the Supreme Military Council, denounced the initiative.
Mr. Kerry said that any violations would then be taken up under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which authorizes punitive action. But Mr. Lavrov made clear that Russia, which wields a veto in the Security Council, had not withdrawn its objections to the use of force. “All of this initiative does not interest us. Russia is a partner with the regime in killing the Syrian people,” he told reporters in Istanbul. “A crime against humanity has been committed, and there is not any mention of accountability.”
The joint announcement, which took place on the third day of intensive talks here, eased the United States’ confrontation with Syria. An immediate test of the viability of the accord will come within a week, when the Syrian government is to provide a “comprehensive listing” of its chemical arsenal. That list is to include the types and quantities of Syria’s poison gas, the chemical munitions it possesses, and the location of its storage, production and research sites.
Arms control officials on both sides worked into the night, a process that recalled the treaty negotiations during the cold war. “The real final responsibility here is Syrian,” a senior Obama administration official said of the deal.
The issue of removing Syria’s chemical arms broke into the open on Monday when Mr. Kerry, at a news conference in London, posed the question as to whether Mr. Assad could rapidly be disarmed only to state that he did not see how it could be done. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry said that “if fully implemented, this framework can provide greater protection and security to the world.”
“He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. Turn it over, all of it, without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that,” Mr. Kerry said. “But he isn’t about to do it, and it can’t be done, obviously.” If Mr. Assad fails to comply with the agreement, the issue would be referred to the United Nations Security Council, where the violations would be taken up under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which authorizes punitive action, Mr. Kerry said.
Now, however, what once seemed impossible has become the plan — one that will depend on Mr. Assad’s cooperation and that will need to be put in place in the middle of a civil war. Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia made clear that his country, which wields a veto in the Security Council, had not withdrawn its objections to the use of force.
Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov had a series of meeting on Friday, including a session that ended at midnight. On Saturday morning, the two sides reconvened with their arms-controls experts on the hotel pool deck, sitting under a white umbrella drinking coffee as they pored over the text of the agreement. If the Russians objected to punishing Syrian noncompliance with military action, however, the United States would still have the option of acting without the Security Council’s approval.
Before the news conference, Mr. Lavrov said that he had not spoken with Syrian officials while he was negotiating in Geneva. Obama administration officials say that Russia’s role was critical since it has been a major backer of the Assad government. The issue of removing Syria’s chemical arms broke into the open on Monday when Mr. Kerry, at a news conference in London, posed the question of whether Mr. Assad could rapidly be disarmed, only to state that he did not see how it could be done.
Titled “Framework For Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons,” the agreement is four pages, including its technical annexes. The agreement, which outlines procedures for “expeditious destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons program and stringent verification,” says that the United States and Russia will submit a plan in the next several days to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which oversees compliance with the chemical weapons accord. Now, however, what once seemed impossible has become a plan — one that will depend on Mr. Assad’s cooperation and that will need to be put in place in the middle of a fierce conflict.
Under the framework, the initial inspection of the chemical weapons sites that the Syrian government declares must be completed by November. Equipment for producing chemical weapons and filling munitions with poison gas must be destroyed by November. To hammer out the agreement, arms control officials on both sides worked into the night, a process that recalled treaty negotiations during the cold war.
Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov held a marathon series of meetings on Friday, including a session that ended at midnight. On Saturday morning, the two sides reconvened with their arms control experts on the hotel pool deck as they pored over the text of the agreement.
Obama administration officials say that Russia’s role is critical since it has been a major backer of the Assad government, and the American assumption is that much, if not all, of the accord has Mr. Assad’s assent.
At the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, pledged to support the agreement, and he announced that Syria had also formally acceded to the international Chemical Weapons Convention, effective Oct. 14.
Foreign Secretary William Hague of Britain issued a statement after a call with Mr. Kerry in which he welcomed the framework agreement on Syrian chemical weapons, describing it as a “a significant step forward.”
It was a British Parliamentary vote against military action that put off momentum by the United States, France and Britain to conduct airstrikes in the wake of the August chemical strike within Syria.
“The priority must now be full and prompt implementation of the agreement, to ensure the transfer of Syria’s chemical weapons to international control,” Mr. Hague said. Under the agreement, titled “Framework For Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons,” an inspection of the chemical weapons sites identified by the Syrian government must be completed by November. Equipment for producing chemical weapons and filling munitions with poison gas must be destroyed by November.
The document also says that there is to be “complete elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment in the first half of 2014.”The document also says that there is to be “complete elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment in the first half of 2014.”
The framework agreement and the annexes are to be incorporated in a United Nations Security Council resolution that is to be adopted New York. A senior administration official said the schedule outlined in the documents “is daunting, to say the least.” The agreement notes that the United States and Russia have reached a “shared assessment” on the amount and the type of chemical weapons involved, “and are committed to the immediate international control over chemical weapons and their components in Syria.” A priority under the agreement reached Saturday is to take steps to preclude or diminish the Assad government’s ability to employ chemical weapons before they are destroyed.
An American official, who could not be identified under the diplomatic protocol established by the State Department, said that United States and Russia had agreed that Syria has 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons, including Sarin and mustard gas. An American official said that such steps could include burning the least volatile component of binary weapons, a type of chemical agent that becomes potent only when separate elements are mixed. Another way to disable at least part of Syria’s stockpile, the official said, would be to destroy the equipment for mixing the binary component or destroying the munitions or bombs that would be filled with chemical agents.
The two sides, however, have not yet agreed on the number of chemical weapons sites. An American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under State Department protocol, said that the United States and Russia had agreed that Syria has 1,000 tons of chemical weapons, including sarin and mustard gas.
The difference over the number the sites appears to reflect the larger disagreement as to who was responsible for an Aug. 21 attack that the United States says killed at least 1,400 civilians, many of them women and children. The United States believes there are at least 45 sites in Syria associated with its chemical weapons program. Nearly half of these have “exploitable quantities” of chemical weapons, though the American official said that some of the agents may have been moved by the Assad government.
If the Russians were to agree on the number of chemical weapons sites, the fact that, as American officials believe, the sites are all in government control areas, that would suggest that the Assad government was culpable for the attack and not the rebel forces as the Russians have asserted. The American official said there was no indication that any of Syria’s chemical stocks had been moved to Iraq or Lebanon, as the Syrian opposition had charged. “We believe they are under regime control,” the official said.
The United States believes there are at least 45 chemical weapons sites in Syria. Nearly half of these have “exploitable quantities” of chemical weapons, though the American official says that some of the agents may have been moved by the Assad government. The American official said there was no indication that any of Syria’s chemical stocks had been moved to Iraq or Lebanon, as the Syrian opposition had charged. Russia has not accepted the American data on the number of chemical weapons sites. The difference may reflect the larger disagreement as to who was responsible for an Aug. 21 attack that the United States says killed at least 1,400 civilians, many of them women and children.
“We believe they are under regime control,” the American official said. If the Russians were to agree both on the number of chemical weapons sites and that the sites are all in government-controlled areas, that would suggest that the Assad government was culpable for the attack, and not the rebel forces as the Russians have asserted.
In his weekly address before the deal was announced, Mr. Obama called the Russian peace initiative and subsequent discussions “positive developments” that could ultimately avert an American military strike in retaliation for the gas attack. The four-page framework agreement, including its technical annexes, are to be incorporated in a Security Council resolution that is to be adopted in New York.
“If the current discussions produce a serious plan, I’m prepared to move forward with it,” Mr. Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “But we are not just going to take Russia and Assad’s word for it. We need to see concrete actions to demonstrate that Assad is serious about giving up his chemical weapons.” Just to be sure, he said he would keep American destroyers and other forces in the region for a possible punitive strike. One concern in carrying out the deal, however, involves how to protect international inspectors who go to Syria. There will be no cease-fire so the inspectors can carry out their work.
A priority in the agreement reached Saturday is to take steps to preclude or diminish the Assad government’s ability to employ chemical weapons before they are destroyed. Asked whether rebels would aid the inspectors, General Idris, the Western-backed rebel military commander, called the issue “complicated,” saying, “If investigators come, we will facilitate the mission.”
An American official said that such steps could include burning the least volatile component of binary weapons, a type of chemical arm that that becomes potent when the elements are mixes. Another way to disable at least part of Syria’s stockpile, the official said, is to destroy the equipment for mixing the binary component or destroying the munitions or bombs that would be filed with chemical agents. He said there were no chemical weapons in rebel-controlled areas, adding: “I don’t know if this will just mean that investigators will pass through the regions that are under rebel control. We are ready.”
Yet another option, officials said, was to remove the arsenal to a third country that would destroy the stocks. The United States and Russia have installations that are capable of doing this. Or, equipment to destroy the stocks could be brought to Syria. The sense of betrayal among nominally pro-Western factions in the opposition has grown intensely in recent days.
Another obstacle in the process could be response of the Syrian rebels. In the northern Syrian province of Idlib, a rebel stronghold, one commander said that the agreement on Saturday proved that the United States no longer cared about helping Syrians and was leaving them at the mercy of a government backed by powerful allies in Russia and Iran.
At a Saturday news conference in Istanbul, Gen. Salim Idris, the nominal commander of the Free Syrian Army, said that the rebels would not agree to a cease-fire and would fight on. Maysara, a commander of a battalion in Saraqeb, said in an interview that he had paid little attention to the diplomacy on Saturday.
“You cannot allow the murderer to get away with murder,” General Idris said. “The chemical weapons agreement is between the international community and the regime” “I don’t care about deals anymore,” he said in an interview. “The Americans found a way out of the strike.”
A report by United Nations inspectors set to be released in the coming days will be “overwhelming” in its conclusion that chemical weapons were used, Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, said Friday. He added: “The Russians did what they want. The Americans lied, and the lie was believed — the U.S. doesn’t want democracy in Syria. Now I have doubts about the U.S. capacities, their military and intelligence capacities. The Iranian capacity is much stronger, I guess.”
Mr. Ban, in comments that he thought were private but that were inadvertently broadcast over an in-house United Nations television channel, said that Mr. Assad had “committed many crimes against humanity” during more than two years of civil war and that there would be a “process of accountability when everything is over.” Mr. Ban said he was “troubled” that the Security Council had not adopted any response, calling it “failure by the United Nations.”

Peter Baker contributed reporting from Washington, and Anne Barnard from Beirut, Lebanon.

Fighting raged across Syria on Friday as antigovernment activists reported shelling in or around nearly every major city. The death toll was reported by activists to be 22 by nightfall, small compared with that of many recent days. But artillery barrages and government warplane sorties went on all day, including clashes in Yarmouk Camp, a contested area home to many Palestinian refugees southeast of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
As deliberations continued in Geneva, Mr. Kerry’s aides announced that he would travel to other capitals to consult with allies. On Sunday, he will fly to Jerusalem to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. Mr. Obama’s decision to defer military action to pursue the Russian initiative has stirred concern in Israel about the credibility of American policy toward Iran and its nuclear program.
After Jerusalem, Mr. Kerry plans to meet on Monday in Paris with the foreign ministers of America’s two principal allies on Syria, Laurent Fabius of France and William Hague of Britain.
After Russia this week proposed averting an American strike by having Syria give up its chemical weapons, Mr. Fabius proposed enforcing such a deal with a Security Council resolution invoking Chapter 7, a clause that allows United Nations members to use military action to enforce its provisions.
While in Paris, Mr. Kerry will also meet with Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, which has been a strong supporter of the anti-Assad Syrian opposition and an advocate of taking tough action after the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack.

Peter Baker contributed reporting from Washington.