Post date: Sep 26, 2013 11:3:0 PM
United States Secretary of State John Kerry says he "did reach an agreement" with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on a resolution on Syria.
UNITED NATIONS (SEPTEMBER 26, 2013) (UNTV) - United States Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday (September 26) that he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to discuss a draft UN Security Council resolution on eliminating Syria's chemical weapons.
During a new conference Kerry told reporters, "I was pleased to have a meeting with (Russian) Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. We did reach an agreement with respect to the resolution. We're now doing the final work on pulling that language together. But it's our hope that process between the organization for the prevention of chemical weapons and the United Nations and its resolution can now move forward and give life hopefully to the removal and destruction of chemical weapons from Syria."Both countries agreed earlier this month to a deal under which Syrian President Bashar al-Assadwould account for his weapons stockpiles within a week and allow their destruction by mid-2014.
A major sticking point between Russia and the West has been whether the resolution is written under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter, which covers the Security Council's authority to enforce decisions with measures such as sanctions or military force.