Syria accepted a Russian proposal on Tuesday to give up chemical weapons and win a reprieve from U.S. military strikes but serious differences emerged between Russia and the United States that could obstruct a U.N. resolution to seal a deal. Even as the White House said it was determined to push ahead with a congressional resolution authorizing force, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the weapons plan would only succeed if Washington and its allies rule out military action. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in a statement shown on Russian state television that Damascus was committed to the Russian initiative. "We want to join the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. We are ready to observe our obligations in accordance with that convention, including providing all information about these weapons," Moualem said. "We are ready to declare the location of the chemical weapons, stop production of the chemical weapons, and show these (production) facilities to representatives of Russia and other United Nations member states," he said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington believes the proposal must be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council "in order to have the confidence that this has the force it ought to have." Moscow has previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned the Syrian government over the conflict. Read more http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE9880HY20130910
