Syria meets deadline for chemical weapons disclosure

[ProSense]

Syria meets deadline for chemical weapons disclosure

By Thomas Escritt

(Reuters) - Syria has handed over information about its chemical arsenal to a U.N.-backed weapons watchdog, meeting the first deadline of an ambitious disarmament operation that averted the threat of Western air strikes.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said on Saturday it had "received the expected disclosure" from Damascus, 24 hours after saying it had been given a partial document from Syrian authorities.

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Once the OPCW executive has voted to follow the Lavrov-Kerry plan in a meeting expected early next week, the Security Council is due to give its endorsement of the arrangements - marking a rare consensus after two years of East-West deadlock over Syria...the two powers are divided over how to ensure compliance with the accord. U.S. President Barack Obama has warned that he is still prepared to attack Syria, even without a U.N. mandate, if Assad reneges on the deal...a senior Russian official suggested on Saturday that if there were clear indications that Assad were not committed to handing over chemical weapons, Moscow may stop supporting him.

"I'm talking theoretically and hypothetically, but if we became sure that Assad is cheating, we could change our position," said Sergei Ivanov, chief of staff for President Vladimir Putin.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/21/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE98K08H20130921

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Worth a kick.

[ProSense]

2. Thanks. n/t

[Iggo]

3. Take that, bombers!