GENEVA: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they have reached an agreement on a framework for securing Syria's chemical weapons after the third day of intense negotiations in Geneva.
They said some elements of the deal include a timetable and how Syria must comply — and that if Syria fails, they will seek a Security Council resolution that could authorise military action.
At a joint press conference with Lavrov, after wrapping up three days of negotiations in Geneva on Saturday, Kerry said the pair and their teams of experts had reached ''a shared assessment'' of the existing stockpile and that Syria must destroy all of its weapons.
Kerry said ''we have committed to a standard that says, verify and verify”.
“Providing this framework is fully implemented it can end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but also their neighbours,” Kerry told reporters.
“Because of the threat of proliferation this framework can provide greater protection and security to the world,” he said.
“The world will now expect the Assad regime to live up to its commitments... There can be no room for games. Or anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime,” he added.
The negotiations between the United States and Russia on securing Syria's chemical weapons are considered key to a resumption of peace talks to end the Syrian civil war.
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