Obama welcomes Syria deal, expects al-Assad's compliance

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial to mark the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in Washington. AFP photo

U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the deal reached Sept. 14 to strip Syria of chemical weapons but said much remains to be done and warned Damascus to comply with the accord.

In a statement, Obama said that if the regime of President Bashar al-Assad does not live up to the deal Washington reached with Syria's ally Russia, "the United States remains prepared to act." Obama said the accord was made possible 'in part' by what he called his credible threat to use force against Syria as punishment for its alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians last month.

The U.S. says the attack killed more than 1,400 people while the regime and Russia have put the blame on the rebels.

The accord marked a very swift change in the direction of the latest chapter of the Syria crisis. Just two weeks ago Obama seemed poised to order missile strikes against Syria, with the stated goal of degrading its ability to use chemical weapons again.

Then he surprised everyone by seeking Congressional approval, effectively delaying any military action for some time. Many U.S. lawmakers opposed more military action for a country recovering from the traumas of Iraq and Afghanistan wars and polls showed voters wary of getting involved in Syria's civil war.

In the words of Obama Sept. 14, "we now have the opportunity to achieve our objectives through diplomacy." The new accord gives Syria a week to provide details of its chemical weapons stockpiles, and says Syria must give international inspectors unfettered access to them with the goal of removing them by the middle of next year.

The accord will be encapsulated in a U.N. resolution under Chapter VII of the U.N. charter. That chapter allows for use of force to ensure compliance, although Russia is certain to opposes this once diplomacy shifts to the U.N. "While we have made important progress, much more work remains to be done," Obama said.

'Important step'

"The United States will continue working with Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the United Nations and others to ensure that this process is verifiable, and that there are consequences should the al-Assad regime not comply with the framework agreed today. And, if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act," the president added.

Earlier, in his weekly radio address, released as the accord in Geneva was emerging, Obama spoke of al-Assad in very harsh terms.

"A dictator must not be allowed to gas children in their beds with impunity. And we cannot risk poison gas becoming the new weapon of choice for tyrants and terrorists the world over," he said.

In his statement welcoming the accord Obama said "the use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world is an affront to human dignity and a threat to the security of people everywhere." He said, "We have a duty to preserve a world free from the fear of chemical weapons for our children. Today marks an important step towards achieving this goal." dw/yad AFP