

Syria said it would cease production of chemical weapons and disclose the locations of its stockpiles to the United Nations, Russia and others, as Damascus seized on a possible diplomatic route to avert international military action.

The statement by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem represented the first direct admission by the Syrian government that it possesses chemical weapons. Mr. Moallem also said Syria aimed to sign the international convention banning chemical weapons.


The offer came as Syria's ally Russia clashed with France over a possible U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at forcing Damascus to hand over its stockpiles, following what the U.S. and France said was a chemical-weapons attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21.

Syria has denied a role in the attack, blaming opposition rebels in the country's 2½-year old civil conflict.

President Barack Obama has mounted a campaign at home and abroad for support for military action to punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime for the attack. That campaign, and U.S. congressional debate over supporting military action, have been sidetracked by a Russian proposal that led to Syria's offer.

Mr. Obama has agreed to explore the possibility of a Syrian chemical-weapons handover, the White House said, even as he continued to seek support for a U.S. military strike from a reluctant Congress.

Mr. Obama traveled to the Capitol to meet with Senate Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday, ahead of a prime-time speech to make his case to the American public. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel again testified on Capitol Hill to press the case for military action.

Mr. Kerry warned Tuesday that it would be "exceedingly difficult" for Syria to meet the international community's conditions for giving up its chemical weapons and avoiding a threatened U.S. military strike.

Meanwhile, an international clash took shape over what those conditions would be.

Russia on Tuesday called a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Syria, but Moscow later postponed it without explanation.

Earlier in the day, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France would propose a U.N. Security Council resolution invoking Chapter 7, a clause that allows member states to use all possible means, including military action, to enforce a resolution.

Mr. Fabius said the resolution would call for consequences if the regime of Mr. Assad fails to comply with the proposed program, adding that "all options remain on the table."

After that draft was rejected by Russia, France agreed to work with the U.S. and U.K. on a joint draft.

Mr. Obama spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President François Hollande on Tuesday morning about possible Security Council action, agreeing to seriously explore the Russian proposal, the White House said.

The discussions, until late Tuesday, involved only an implicit acknowledgment from Syria that Mr. Assad had chemical weapons, which are banned under an international treaty that Damascus hasn't signed.

"We are ready to reveal the locations of the chemical weapon sites and to stop producing chemical weapons and make these sites available for the inspection of representatives of Russia, other countries and the United Nations," Mr. Moallem said, reading a statement to a pro-regime Lebanese TV station, al-Mayadeen.

"We are ready to cooperate fully in implementing this [Russian] initiative, particularly given that we want to become a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also chimed in as Moscow sought to steer the debate on Syria.

"It's well known that Syria has a certain arsenal of chemical weapons and the Syrians always viewed that as an alternative [response] to Israel's nuclear weapons," he said Tuesday.

The developments came after Mr. Kerry on Monday suggested that Syria could avert a U.S. attack by handing over its weapons for destruction, adding that Mr. Assad "isn't about to do it and it can't be done, obviously."

Mr. Obama has struggled to gain traction in his push for an authorization from Congress on the use of force, and polls show many Americans are skeptical about U.S. military involvement in Syria.

That case became more difficult as international efforts to address the crisis in Syria shifted back to diplomacy, after weeks of saber-rattling led by the U.S. and France that followed the Aug. 21 chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus. The U.S. said the Assad regime killed more than 1,400 people in the attack.

Russia plans to propose a draft declaration of the chairman of the Security Council that would welcome the initiative to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control and call on the U.N. and other agencies to support that work, the Russian foreign ministry said.


British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday that the U.K. would join the U.S. and France in presenting a resolution, and emphasized the urgency of Syrian compliance.

"We need to know that there is a proper timetable," he said. "We need to know that there will be a proper process for doing it, and crucially there would have to be consequences if it wasn't done," he told lawmakers.

A representative of the Syrian opposition urged the U.S. and France to forge ahead with the planned strikes, describing Moscow's proposal as a delay tactic.


In Moscow, Mr. Moallem, the Syrian foreign minister, said Russia's initiative was aimed at "knocking the legs out from under American aggression," according to Interfax.

Chemicals in War: Troy to Today





Paris is also seeking a resolution that holds any members of the Assad regime accountable under international law for any alleged involvement in the chemical attacks. The French draft resolution will call for any cases to be referred to the International Criminal Court. That provision is also likely to draw scrutiny from Moscow.

Russia, which wields veto power on the Security Council, has blocked previous resolutions aimed at punishing the Assad regime.







—Inti Landauro and Joe Lauria contributed to this article.
