Syria: accord among P5 on elimination of chemical
weapons
The
five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have agreed on a resolution
that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons, but there will be no
automatic penalties if the Syrians fail to comply.
The
agreement is a compromise among the U.S., its allies and Russia about how to
enforce the resolution, which would eliminate the chemical arms programme. But
the deal, when approved by the 15 members of the Security Council, would amount
to the most significant international diplomatic initiative of the Syrian civil
war. It would also be a remarkable turn for President Barack Obama, who had
been pushing for a military strike on Syria just a few weeks ago before accepting
a Russian proposal to have Syria give up its chemical arsenal.
Western
diplomats said the resolution would be legally binding and would stipulate that
if Syria failed to abide by the terms, the Security Council would take measures
under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, the strongest form of a Council
resolution. Such measures could include economic sanctions or even military
action. But before any action could be taken, the issue would have to go back
for further deliberations by the Security Council, on which Russia, like the
other permanent members, holds a veto.
Syria,
the resolution states, “shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire,
stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly,
chemical weapons to other States or nonstate actors.” The measure notes that
“in the event of noncompliance with this resolution, including unauthorised
transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the
Syrian Arab Republic,” the Security Council can decide to “impose measures
under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.” Syria’s entire arsenal is to
be eliminated by the middle of 2014, according to that accord, a process that
Mr. Assad has said could take a year.
