Russia, US agree on draft resolution on Syria chemical weapons - Lavrov

The draft resolution to be submitted to the UN Security Council is in line with the agreement reached between Russia and the US in Geneva and does not suggest immediate action against Syria under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, Russia’s FM Lavrov said. Voice of Russia correspondent shares the details of Sergei Lavrov's press conference which Russia's FM held after his meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

"We have reached complete agreement on the draft resolution which is now being submitted to the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague. We have also agreed on Russian-US draft resolution on Syria which will be submitted to the UN Security Council later tonight", said Lavrov during the press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 68th session. “The resolution which will be submitted to the UN Security Council is in line with the Geneva framework on the commitment to place Syrian chemical weapons stockpile under international control,” Lavrov said. “There will be no enforcement in line with Chapter 7.” However, if there is any violation by any party – as the resolution also calls on the opposition to assist in the disarmament process – the Security Council will convene again and will be ready to take any enforcement measures in line with Chapter 7, Lavrov added. According to Lavrov, the draft resolution emphasizes the need to rely on the professionalism of the OPCW experts and calls on the UN Secretary General to assist the experts in the implementation of the reached agreements. "The resolution appeals to the UN Secretary General to assist the UN experts in all the work they perform in Syria and describes all the rules that the Syrian side has to comply with as a member of the Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and as a country that has invited experts from the OPCW to take control of and ultimately destroy their chemical arsenal", Lavrov said. "We hope that in the near future there will be a vote regarding these two documents in the Hangue and in New York", Lavrov asserted. "Overall, I am pleased with the work we've done, and I expect that this Russian-American initiative, which has received broad support globally, will be supported in practical terms by the OPCW and the UN Security Council", Lavrov concluded. "This is a breakthrough arrived at through hard-fought diplomacy," said a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This is historic and unprecedented because it puts oversight of the Assad regime's compliance under international control." The UN Security Council is expected to hold a closed-door consultation on the Syria draft resolution on Thursday evening, representatives of the French UN mission told Reuters. US envoy to the UN Samantha Power also confirmed an agreement with Russia has been reached, elaborating further that the draft resolution is “legally obligating Syria to give up chemical weapons they used on their people.”

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_27/Russia-US-agreed-on-draft-resolution-on-Syria-chemical-weapons-within-OPCW-framework-Lavrov-5364/