MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that a plan for Syria to turn over its chemical weapons stockpile will only work if the United States agrees not to use force.
Putin told reporters on Tuesday that the plan "can work, only in the event that we hear that the American side and those who support the U.S.A, in this sense, reject the use of force."
President Barack Obama has thrown his support behind a French resolution to the U.N. Security Council even as he pushes the idea of U.S. airstrikes against Assad's regime if that effort fails.
The resolution would demand that Syria open its chemical weapons program to inspection, place it under international control, and ultimately dismantle it.
Earlier story:
Syria's foreign minister says President Bashar Assad's regime will declare its chemical weapons arsenal and sign the chemical weapons convention.
Walid al-Moallem also says Syria is ready to cooperate fully to implement a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons arsenal under international control and it will stop producing chemical weapons.
He adds that Syria will also place chemical weapons locations in the hands of representatives of Russia, "other countries" and the United Nations.
