U.S. to take 'Hard Look' at Russian Syria Weapons Plan, Senate's Primary Vote Set for Wedneday
The United States said Monday it would welcome a plan for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons but expressed skepticism at the Russian initiative, which is designed to head off American air strikes.
However, the U.S. Senate announced later on Monday that it will hold a procedural vote Wednesday on a measure authorizing President Barack Obama to use military force against Syria.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will vote on a motion to debate the resolution endorsing "limited military action" in retaliation for Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons.
"This matter demands the attention of the Senate and this country (and) all should agree that we should have this debate," Reid said on the Senate floor as he ushered in the newest legislative session following a five-week summer recess.
Should there be objections to the motion, as at least one Republican senator threatened last week, the 100-member chamber would need 60 votes to move the resolution forward.
Obama's Democrats control the Senate, but it is unclear whether Obama has the necessary support in the upper chamber to meet the 60-vote threshold.
Earlier on Monday, senior officials at the White House and the State Department moved swiftly to respond to the Russian plan, as they escalated a political effort designed to win backing from lawmakers for U.S. air attacks on Syria.
Tony Blinken, a deputy U.S. national security adviser, said that Washington would consult with Russia over the plan, but expressed doubt about Syria's intentions.
"We would welcome a decision and action by Syria to give up its chemical weapons," Blinken said.
"We will take a hard look at the proposal," he said.
But he added that Syria's "track record to date, doesn't give you a lot of confidence."
Another deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, told MSNBC that Washington would not "take the pressure" off Damascus, arguing like other officials that it was only the threat of U.S. strikes that prompted Russia to come with the plan.
Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, warned that any plan to get Syria to dispose of its chemical arms should not be "another stalling tactic."
"The Russians for months and years have stood up for the Syrian regime at the U.N. and in the international community," she said.
Moscow earlier seized the diplomatic initiative by announcing a plan for Syria to put its chemical weapons under international control, which it said could forestall U.S. air strikes.
Earlier, in London, Secretary of State John Kerry was asked what Assad could do to prevent a military attack.
"Turn it over, all of it, without delay and allow a full and total accounting for that," Kerry told reporters, referring to Syria's chemical weapons.
"But he isn't about to do it and it can't be done."
Harf said earlier that Kerry had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before leaving London on Monday.
Meanwhile, President Obama's national security adviser said Monday that the United States needs to strike Syria in part to send a message to its ally Iran over its nuclear program.
Susan Rice, joining a major public effort by Obama to persuade a skeptical Congress, said the United States was morally bound to respond to Syrian President Bashar Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons.
Rice said that U.S. action on Syria was also critical for the broader influence of the United States, which has joined Israel and European nations in warning Iran against developing nuclear weapons.
"We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon," Rice said at the New America Foundation, a think tank.
"As the president has said, all options remain on the table. For our efforts to succeed, however, the leaders in Tehran must know that the United States means what we say," she said.
"If we do not respond when Iran's close ally uses weapons of mass destruction, what message does that send to Iran? It risks suggesting that the international community cannot muster the will to act when necessary," Rice said.
Iran denies that it is seeking nuclear weapons, saying its program is for peaceful purposes. Newly elected President Hassan Rowhani has called for better relations with the rest of the world but has strongly opposed a strike on Syria.
Iran, led by Shiite clerics, counts Assad -- a secular leader from the minority Alawite sect -- as its closest ally in the region, while the rebels are supported by Gulf Arab monarchies Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Obama has resisted involvement in Syria's civil war, which has claimed more than 110,000 lives, but warned Assad that the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" for the United States.
Rice noted that Iran itself suffered chemical weapons attacks during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who launched the attacks, enjoyed Western assistance at the time.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius insisted Monday that Syria's Assad "commit himself without delay" to the elimination of his country's chemical weapons arsenal.
"The proposal of Lavrov merits close examination," Fabius said, demanding that Assad "commit himself without delay to put his chemical arsenal under international control and to let all of it be destroyed."
Fabius also demanded that those behind the alleged August 21 chemical attack that killed hundreds outside Damascus be tried by the International Criminal Court.
Source: Agence France Presse
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