The United States and Russia have agreed on a proposal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday after nearly three days of talks with Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. US secretary of state John Kerry next to United Nations, Arab League special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference after their high-stakes talks on Syria's chemical weapons at the UN headquarters in Geneva. The United States and Russia have agreed that Syrian chemical weapons will be placed under international control and destroyed in a process that will begin with a week. International inspectors from the Organisation of the Prevention of Chemical weapons must be given "immediate and unfettered" access to Syrian chemical weapons, said US secretary of state, John Kerry.
Kerry and Lavrov said that if Syria does not comply with the agreement, which must be finalized by the Institution for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, it would face consequences under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter, the part that covers sanctions and military action. Kerry said any violations will result in "measures" from the UN security council, while Lavrov said the violations must be sent to the security council from the board of the chemical weapons convention before sanctions short of the use of force would be considered. Kerry said the inspectors must be on the ground by November and destruction or removal of the chemical weapons must be completed by mid-2014. Any violations of procedures, would be looked at by the security council and if they are approved, the security council would take the required measures, concrete measures. Kerry said that the president of the US as the commander in chief retains the right to defend the US and its interests regardless of what happens in congress. Assad's willingness to comply with the agreement will be quickly put to the test. Kerry is expected to travel to Israel to brief the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on sunday before travelling to Paris to brief William Hague, the British foreign secretary, and Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister.