Swift Movement Is Seen on Syria After U.N. Action
By RICK GLADSTONE and SOMINI SENGUPTA, NYT
The diplomatic drive to purge Syria of its chemical weapons accelerated Friday, as the full 15-member United Nations Security Council approved a breakthrough resolution to ensure Syrian compliance, and the organization responsible for carrying out the destruction of those munitions announced a timetable that starts Tuesday, sooner than some had expected.
The Security Council resolution is aimed at coercing the government of President Bashar al-Assad to honor a pledge to give up its chemical weapons, which have been used at least once in Syria’s civil war with horrific effects. The measure was a compromise completed Thursday night by the Council’s five permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Although the resolution does not automatically threaten the use of force if Syria reneges — a Western concession granted to Russia — it nonetheless represents the Security Council’s most significant action to date on the Syria conflict. Approval by all 15 members came swiftly Friday night.
In a speech to the Council, Secretary of State John Kerry cast the resolution as an important precedent in establishing that chemical weapons are “a threat to international peace and security anywhere they might be used.”
(More here.)
The diplomatic drive to purge Syria of its chemical weapons accelerated Friday, as the full 15-member United Nations Security Council approved a breakthrough resolution to ensure Syrian compliance, and the organization responsible for carrying out the destruction of those munitions announced a timetable that starts Tuesday, sooner than some had expected.
The Security Council resolution is aimed at coercing the government of President Bashar al-Assad to honor a pledge to give up its chemical weapons, which have been used at least once in Syria’s civil war with horrific effects. The measure was a compromise completed Thursday night by the Council’s five permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Although the resolution does not automatically threaten the use of force if Syria reneges — a Western concession granted to Russia — it nonetheless represents the Security Council’s most significant action to date on the Syria conflict. Approval by all 15 members came swiftly Friday night.
In a speech to the Council, Secretary of State John Kerry cast the resolution as an important precedent in establishing that chemical weapons are “a threat to international peace and security anywhere they might be used.”
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home