Russia rejects clause on use of force in UN resolution on Syria

Russia said Tuesday that a UN Security Council resolution on Syria’s chemical weapons would not contain any references to the use of force.

Instead of discussing Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the use of force, the top task is to fulfill a plan for the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after talks with his French counterpart, Laurent Fabius.

Lavrov insisted on “an unbiased and impartial and professional” investigation into the alleged chemical weapons attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21.

A draft decision by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Executive Council, which will stipulate the procedure, methods, and dates for the disposal of chemical weapons in Syria, will be prepared soon, the Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

Russia and France also agreed that the Geneva-II conference must be convened as soon as possible, Lavrov said, adding that Moscow has been ready to announce the date for that conference “at any moment.”

The only obstacle was that the Syrian opposition has not agreed to participate so far, said Lavrov, calling the stances of opposition National Coalition counter-productive.

“The National Coalition has expected that problem (of chemical weapons) would be solved by military intervention,” Lavrov noted.

Fabius called the Russia-U.S. agreement on placing Syrian chemical weapons under international control an “important breakthrough” but warned that the process of implementation would not be easy.

“This is a good step forward, a breakthrough, but at the same time this is not the end of the story. This important breakthrough must now be transferred from words to reality,” said the French minister.

Lavrov met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Thursday for three-day talks to discuss Russia’s proposal to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.

According to the agreement reached on Saturday in Geneva, Syria must submit a “comprehensive listing” of its chemical weapons stockpiles in one week, international inspectors must be on the ground in Syria by November and destruction or removal of the chemical weapons must be completed by mid-2014.