GENEVA/BEIRUT: Russia and the United States put aside bitter differences over Syriato strike a deal on Saturday that by destroying President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal may avert US military action against him.
The agreement after three days of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demands that Assad give a full account of his secret stockpile within a week.
International inspectors would rapidly get to work to eliminate all the weapons by the middle of next year - an "ambitious" target, in Kerry's words.
If Syria reneges on a commitment to comply, Washington and Moscow pledged to cooperate at the United Nations to impose penalties - though these remain to be determined and Russia is highly unlikely to support military action, which US President Barack Obama has said must remain an option.
Kerry said Obama retained the right to attack, with or without U.N. backing.
For Assad's opponents, who two weeks ago were expecting US air strikes at any moment in response to a poison gas attack on rebel territory last month, the deal was a big disappointment.
Despite Kerry and Lavrov's assurances that the pact may lay a foundation for broader peace, they said Assad would not comply and that the deal brought an end to their battles no closer.
Warplanes struck rebel-held suburbs of Damascus again on Saturday.
For the world's two greatest military powers, however, the Syrian conflict has chilled relations to levels recalling the Cold War, and Saturday's agreement offers a chance to step back from further confrontation.
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, it brings management of the Syrian crisis back to the United Nations. For Obama, it solves the dilemma created by Congress's reluctance to back military strikes that he was preparing without a U.N. mandate.
Yet many difficulties lie ahead - not least the technical challenge of enforcing a major disarmament involving complex and dangerous materials in the midst of a vicious civil war that has inflamed the entire Middle East.
Kerry told a joint news conference in Geneva: "The implementation of this framework, which will require the vigilance and the investment of the international community, and full accountability of the Assad regime, presents a hard road ahead."
Lavrov said: "It shows that when there is a will ... Russia and the United States can get results on the most important problems including the weapons of mass destruction problem."
"The successful realisation of this agreement will have meaning not only from the point of view of the common goal of eliminating all arsenals of chemical weapons, but also to avoid the military scenario that would be catastrophic for this region and international relations on the whole."
REBELS DISMISSIVE
In Istanbul, the head of the Syrian rebel Supreme Military Council was dismissive of the deal, however, saying it would not resolve the country's civil war, now in its third year.
The agreement after three days of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demands that Assad give a full account of his secret stockpile within a week.
International inspectors would rapidly get to work to eliminate all the weapons by the middle of next year - an "ambitious" target, in Kerry's words.
If Syria reneges on a commitment to comply, Washington and Moscow pledged to cooperate at the United Nations to impose penalties - though these remain to be determined and Russia is highly unlikely to support military action, which US President Barack Obama has said must remain an option.
Kerry said Obama retained the right to attack, with or without U.N. backing.
For Assad's opponents, who two weeks ago were expecting US air strikes at any moment in response to a poison gas attack on rebel territory last month, the deal was a big disappointment.
Despite Kerry and Lavrov's assurances that the pact may lay a foundation for broader peace, they said Assad would not comply and that the deal brought an end to their battles no closer.
Warplanes struck rebel-held suburbs of Damascus again on Saturday.
For the world's two greatest military powers, however, the Syrian conflict has chilled relations to levels recalling the Cold War, and Saturday's agreement offers a chance to step back from further confrontation.
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, it brings management of the Syrian crisis back to the United Nations. For Obama, it solves the dilemma created by Congress's reluctance to back military strikes that he was preparing without a U.N. mandate.
Yet many difficulties lie ahead - not least the technical challenge of enforcing a major disarmament involving complex and dangerous materials in the midst of a vicious civil war that has inflamed the entire Middle East.
Kerry told a joint news conference in Geneva: "The implementation of this framework, which will require the vigilance and the investment of the international community, and full accountability of the Assad regime, presents a hard road ahead."
Lavrov said: "It shows that when there is a will ... Russia and the United States can get results on the most important problems including the weapons of mass destruction problem."
"The successful realisation of this agreement will have meaning not only from the point of view of the common goal of eliminating all arsenals of chemical weapons, but also to avoid the military scenario that would be catastrophic for this region and international relations on the whole."
REBELS DISMISSIVE
In Istanbul, the head of the Syrian rebel Supreme Military Council was dismissive of the deal, however, saying it would not resolve the country's civil war, now in its third year.
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