(Geneva) – The United States and Russia unveiled an ambitious plan to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by the middle of next year and left the door open to sanctions if Damascus failed to comply. The landmark deal was hailed by the West, but rejected by rebels who warn that it would not halt the bloodshed in the conflict which has killed more than 110,000 people and displaced millions in two and a half years.
Under the accord struck in three days of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad now has a week to hand over details of his regime’s stockpile.
Kerry said Assad’s regime must also provide “immediate and unfettered” access to inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). “The inspectors must be on the ground no later than November and the goal is to establish the removal by halfway through next year,” said Kerry.
The pressure is now on Assad to deliver, with Obama warning that “the United States remains prepared to act” if Damascus fails to comply.
