Syria Hands Over Chemical Weapon Data To Hague Watchdog

The Hague-based OPCW added that it expected more details from Syria in the coming days and had postponed a meeting planned for Sunday.

Syria was given a Saturday deadline to give a full list of its chemical arms.

The US had threatened military action over a chemical attack in Damascus which the UN says was a war crime.

The US, UK and France have accused Syrian government forces of carrying out the 21 August attack, in the Ghouta district, but President Bashar al-Assad has blamed rebel groups.

Separately, two Syrian rebel groups have agreed a ceasefire in the northern town of Azaz after two days of fighting that raised fears of a war within a war.
Meeting postponed

Michael Luhan, a spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is responsible for policing the treaty outlawing chemical arms, said Syria's submission was an "initial declaration".

Mr Luhan said it was now being examined by the organisation's technical secretariat but he declined to say what was in it.

A UN diplomat confirmed to Reuters that details had been submitted, adding: "It's quite long... and being translated."

The US-Russia-brokered deal aims to have inspectors on the ground in Syria in November, when they will make an initial assessment and oversee the destruction of certain equipment.

The destruction of all of Syria's chemical weapons would then be completed by mid-2014.

The core members of the OPCW were expected to vote on the timetable next week.

However, the OPCW said in a statement on Friday that a meeting of its executive council scheduled for Sunday had been postponed, without giving a reason.

"We will announce the new date and time... as soon as possible," it said.

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- Unknown Updated at: Saturday, September 21, 2013

Syria Welcomes The Russian Proposal To Handover Chem. Weapons

Moscow: Syria has "welcomed" Russia's proposal for President Bashar al-Assad's regime to put chemical weapons under international control, CNN reported on Monday.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had told reporters that Russia will urge Syria to put its chemical weapons supply under international control if it doing so would avert U.S. military action.

Lavrov had called for international talks in Moscow to avert a military strike and end Syria's two-year-old conflict.

Speaking in Moscow alongside his Syrian counterpart, Lavrov blamed US-backed rebels in Syria for preventing a peace conference in Geneva.

Reports also said that Russia had pressed upon the UN atomic agency to report on the nuclear risk of air strikes on Syria in efforts to stave off possible US attack.

Two diplomats said Russian envoy Grigory Berdennikov urged action on an earlier request in comments today to the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board.

A confidential letter from the Russian foreign ministry to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano obtained by The Associated Press today warns of the "catastrophic" consequences of a strike on a research reactor near Damascus.

The diplomats, who were inside the closed meeting, demanded anonymity because they were not authorised to report on the discussion.

The IAEA has said it is assessing Russia's request.

With agency inputs

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- Unknown Updated at: Monday, September 09, 2013

Russia Prepares Its Fleet At Syrian Shore

The Russian military is bracing for what is seen as an imminent U.S. strike in Syria even as Moscow warned that the attack could trigger a nuclear Armageddon.

In addition to five warships deployed in the East Mediterranean, Russia, in recent days, has sent six more ships to the region, including the guided missile cruiser Moskva.

On Wednesday, Russia placed on heightened alert the Central Command Post of the General Staff, the Aerospace Defence command and the country’s intelligence agencies, Defence Ministry officials said.

Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Valery Gerasimov cancelled a planned visit to Austria on Wednesday, while Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov summoned the U.S. and Israeli military attaches over a test launch of an Israeli missile on Tuesday.

Mr. Antonov described the region a “powder keg” and warned that its fire “may spread, not only to neighbouring states, but to other regions of the world.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a stark warning that a U.S. strike on Syria’s nuclear facilities might result in a nuclear catastrophe.

“If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

The region would face the risk of “contamination by highly enriched uranium and it would be virtually impossible to account for nuclear material at the facility, its control and safety,” the Russian statement said.

Moscow urged the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to “react swiftly” and carry out “an analysis of the risks linked to possible American strikes on the MNSR and other facilities in Syria.”

Russia intends to bring up the issue at a 35-nation IAEA board meeting that opens on Monday, the Interfax news agency said.

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- Unknown Updated at: Thursday, September 05, 2013

US Senate Backs Attack On Syria

WASHINGTON — The Senate took a crucial step Wednesday toward authorizing a punitive strike on Syria but deep reluctance was evident in the House, where lawmakers questioned whether the U.S. was in danger of being drawn into another Middle East war.

President Obama, who announced Saturday that he would seek legislative backing for military action in response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons, sought to raise the pressure on Congress as well as U.S. allies, warning that their reputations were at stake.

"My credibility's not on the line. The international community's credibility's on the line. And America and Congress' credibility's on the line," Obama said during a visit to Stockholm.

Administration officials have repeatedly compared Syrian President Bashar Assad to Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler, and said he needs to be deterred from using chemical weapons again.

On a 10-7 vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution to authorize U.S. missile strikes. The committee chairman, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), said Congress should "make sure Assad understands he can't just wait us out, use chemical weapons and face no consequences."

Several senators from both parties, including opponents of the resolution, predicted the Senate would approve it next week. Yet the Senate's conflicted views were clear in the vote, which saw Democrats and Republicans on each side. Menendez and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) supported the resolution, while conservative Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) voted with liberal Tom Udall (D-N.M.) against it.

Serious doubts on U.S. military action were aired in a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and other lawmakers repeatedly asked about the risks of U.S. involvement in Syria's civil war, while Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) questioned why the United States should side with Syrian rebels when "radical Islamists" make up most of their forces.

Obama, meanwhile, insisted he was not alone in demanding a response to the alleged use of chemical weapons in the suburbs of Damascus on Aug. 21, but was joined by nations that signed treaties banning chemical weapons and by Congress, which ratified them. "I didn't set a red line; the world set a red line" he said. "That wasn't something I just kind of made up."

The Senate committee's resolution limits any U.S. mission to 90 days and prohibits the use of ground troops...

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- Unknown Updated at: Thursday, September 05, 2013

Russia Warns America Of Catastrophic Consequences on Syria Attack

Russia on Tuesday warned a military intervention in Syria could have "catastrophic consequences" for the region and called on the international community to show "prudence" over the crisis.

"Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"We are calling on our American partners and all members of the world community to demonstrate prudence (and) strict observance of international law, especially the fundamental principles of the UN Charter," ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is known for his sharp tongue, said on Twitter that "the West behaves towards the Islamic world like a monkey with a grenade."

Earlier Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that Moscow regretted Monday's decision by the US to postpone a meeting on the Syria crisis, as Western powers mulled military action over last week's chemical attack in Syria.

The scrapping of the meeting, which was due to take place at The Hague later in the week, is the latest sign of a new peak in tensions between Moscow and the West over the possibility of military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"It arouses regret that our partners decided to cancel the bilateral meeting," Gatilov said on Twitter. "Working out the parameters of a political solution in Syria would have been especially helpful right now, when military action is hanging over this country," Gatilov said.

In such a climate, it was especially important to work in concert to try to organise the repeatedly postponed peace conference bringing together the Damascus regime and the rebels, Lukashevich said.

"However, the United States' decision to postpone the meeting in The Hague is sending precisely the opposite signal to the opposition, encouraging their intransigence as they await outside intervention," he said.

Western countries including the United States are considering their response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by Assad's regime on August 21.

On Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the "hysteria" over the claimed chemical attack and said the West had yet to come up with proof that Assad's regime was behind it. He also said Russia would not get involved in a military conflict in Syria.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron in a telephone call on Monday there was no evidence yet that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebels, Cameron's office said.

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- Unknown Updated at: Wednesday, September 04, 2013

No Attack On Syria means US Risks Loosing Allies

The United States risks not only losing its international allies and friends, but also its credibility at the world stage if no military action is taken against the Bashar al-Assad regime for alleged use of chemical weapons, the Obama Administration has told American lawmakers.

"If we fail to act, we're going to have fewer allies. We are going to have fewer people that count on us, certainly in the region," Secretary of State John Kerry told the US Senate. Kerry, who has spent hours talking to world leaders over phone after the alleged chemical

attack in Syria on August 21 that killed more than 1,400 people, said on Tuesday that the credibility of US is at stake.

"It's fair to say that our interests would be seriously set back in many respects if we are viewed as not capable, or willing to follow through on the things that we say matter to us," the Secretary of State said.

Describing the use of chemical weapons a violation of the world's "red line", Kerry said that no action by the US would set a dangerous precedent.

"We would be opening Pandora's box with respect to a whole set of dangerous consequences as a result of the United States not keeping its word. And it would make our life very, very difficult with respect to North Korea and Iran," he said.

Congressional debate on President Barack Obama's request for authorisation to strike Syria intensified as Kerry, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, briefed the lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"A refusal to act would undermine the credibility of America's other security commitments, including the president's commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The word of the United States must mean something. It is vital currency in foreign relations and international and allied commitments," Hagel told lawmakers at a Senate hearing on Syria.

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- Unknown Updated at: Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Arab League Took "Hasty" and "Political" decision Says Iran

Tehran: Iran has described the Arab League’s statement holding the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Damascus last month as hasty and politically motivated.

“The adoption of stance by the Arab League before the official announcement of the results of the United Nations’ investigation proves that it is politically motivated

and is a kind of prejudgment,” Iran's foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told the Iranian Student News Agency.

Afkham said Monday the statement is intended to increase the pressure on the Syrian government. “Such stances do not help settle the current dispute and only deepens the crisis.”

"Provoking and encouraging the use of force is very risky," Afkham said.

Following an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo Sunday, Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said the body held the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad responsible for the chemical weapons attack in Damascus last month, Iran's Mehr news agency reported.

Elaraby said the United Nations inspectors who had investigated the attack site "do not have the powers to say who committed this... so, all the inspectors will say is that chemical weapons have been used". Afkham said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that (all) comments and efforts should be aimed at stopping the spread of the crisis and preventing the region from getting into a situation in which there would be no end for it.”

Afkham called on all parties involved in the crisis to act unanimously to counter "the organised terrorism" in Syria and stop certain governments’ support for terrorists in the Arab country.

IANS

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- Unknown Updated at: Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Russian Radars Detect Ballistic Objects In Mediterranean

MOSCOW: Russian radar detected two ballistic "objects" that were fired towards the eastern Mediterranean from the central part of the sea on Tuesday, state-run news agency RIA quoted the defense ministry as saying.

The defense ministry declined immediate comment to Reuters.

Two ballistic "objects" that Russia said were launched toward the eastern coast of the Mediterranean fell into the sea, state-run Russian news agency RIA cited a source in Damascus as saying.

A ministry official had earlier criticized the United States for deploying warships in the Mediterranean close to Syria.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Syria said there were no signs of a missile attack or explosions in Damascus on Tuesday after Russia detected the launch of two ballistic "objects" in the Mediterranean Sea, Itar-Tass news agency said.

Israel "not aware" of any east Mediterranean missile launch

Israel said it was unaware of any ballistic missile launch being conducted in the eastern Mediterranean. "We are not aware, at this time, of such an event having occurred," a military spokeswoman in Jerusalem said.

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- Unknown Updated at: Tuesday, September 03, 2013