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| Syria minister hails Russia over chemical weapons 'victory' | Syria minister hails Russia over chemical weapons 'victory' |
| (2 days later) | |
| A Syrian minister has hailed the deal on the Assad regime's chemical weapons as "a victory … won thanks to our Russian friends". | A Syrian minister has hailed the deal on the Assad regime's chemical weapons as "a victory … won thanks to our Russian friends". |
| In the first comments to come out of Damascus since the accord to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons, brokered by Russia and the US, was announced, Ali Haidar, paid fulsome tribute to its longstanding ally, praising "the achievement of the Russian diplomacy and the Russian leadership". | In the first comments to come out of Damascus since the accord to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons, brokered by Russia and the US, was announced, Ali Haidar, paid fulsome tribute to its longstanding ally, praising "the achievement of the Russian diplomacy and the Russian leadership". |
| He told the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti: "We welcome these agreements. On the one hand, they will help Syrians come out of the crisis, and on the other hand, they prevented the war against Syria by having removed a pretext for those who wanted to unleash it." | He told the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti: "We welcome these agreements. On the one hand, they will help Syrians come out of the crisis, and on the other hand, they prevented the war against Syria by having removed a pretext for those who wanted to unleash it." |
| The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, gave a guarded response to the agreement, stating that it must be judged on whether it eliminated Bashar al-Assad's arsenal in its entirety. | The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, gave a guarded response to the agreement, stating that it must be judged on whether it eliminated Bashar al-Assad's arsenal in its entirety. |
| Netanyahu was speaking before a planned meeting with the US secretary of state, John Kerry, who has flown into Israel to brief him on the deal he reached with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Geneva on Saturday. | Netanyahu was speaking before a planned meeting with the US secretary of state, John Kerry, who has flown into Israel to brief him on the deal he reached with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Geneva on Saturday. |
| "We hope the understandings reached between the United States and Russia regarding the Syrian chemical weapons will yield results," said Netanyahu in a speech at a military memorial ceremony. | "We hope the understandings reached between the United States and Russia regarding the Syrian chemical weapons will yield results," said Netanyahu in a speech at a military memorial ceremony. |
| "These understandings will be judged on their results – the complete destruction of all of the chemical weapons stockpiles that the Syrian regime has used against its own people." | "These understandings will be judged on their results – the complete destruction of all of the chemical weapons stockpiles that the Syrian regime has used against its own people." |
| Israel, which is still technically at war with Syria, has been accused by both the Assad regime and Iran of using the conflict to further its own ends in the region. Israel's president, Shimon Peres, said the possibility of US military action if the plan fails should "teach a lesson" to Iran. | Israel, which is still technically at war with Syria, has been accused by both the Assad regime and Iran of using the conflict to further its own ends in the region. Israel's president, Shimon Peres, said the possibility of US military action if the plan fails should "teach a lesson" to Iran. |
| The deal also prompted a cautious welcome in France, which led the tough talking on the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime from the start, insisting that it must be punished. The French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said the accord was a significant step forward, but only "a first stage". | The deal also prompted a cautious welcome in France, which led the tough talking on the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime from the start, insisting that it must be punished. The French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said the accord was a significant step forward, but only "a first stage". |
| "On one hand, we are going to move forward with the destruction of chemical weapons – bravo! – but on the other hand, hundreds of deaths every day are mounting in Syria and that's also what we must tackle, that is to say find a political solution to the Syrian crisis," he said. | "On one hand, we are going to move forward with the destruction of chemical weapons – bravo! – but on the other hand, hundreds of deaths every day are mounting in Syria and that's also what we must tackle, that is to say find a political solution to the Syrian crisis," he said. |
| The French president, François Hollande, is due to make a statement about Syria on French television on Sunday evening. He committed France to military action in Syria, the only country other than the US to publicly do so, after the chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, but Barack Obama's decision to seek approval from Congress for strikes in Syria, after David Cameron lost a vote in the UK, left Hollande, who declined to put the decision to the French parliament, powerless to act, unless France did so alone, which it made clear it was not prepared to do. | The French president, François Hollande, is due to make a statement about Syria on French television on Sunday evening. He committed France to military action in Syria, the only country other than the US to publicly do so, after the chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, but Barack Obama's decision to seek approval from Congress for strikes in Syria, after David Cameron lost a vote in the UK, left Hollande, who declined to put the decision to the French parliament, powerless to act, unless France did so alone, which it made clear it was not prepared to do. |
| Fabius's comments came after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing. Wang, by contrast, welcomed the deal as a way of defusing the possibility of military intervention in Syria. | Fabius's comments came after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing. Wang, by contrast, welcomed the deal as a way of defusing the possibility of military intervention in Syria. |
| "We believe the framework agreement will ease the current tense situation that may be triggered at any moment in Syria and creates new prospects for resolving the chemical weapon issue in Syria through peaceful means." | "We believe the framework agreement will ease the current tense situation that may be triggered at any moment in Syria and creates new prospects for resolving the chemical weapon issue in Syria through peaceful means." |
| China has previously joined Russia in blocking UN security council resolutions against Syria and has expressed its opposition to military intervention. | China has previously joined Russia in blocking UN security council resolutions against Syria and has expressed its opposition to military intervention. |
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