Syria's chemical weapons arsenal can be dismantled as quickly as possible, even without a full ceasefire, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.
China on Monday firmly condemned any use of chemical weapons, calling on the international community to beef up their efforts for a political solution to the Syria crisis.
U.S. President Barack Obama released an executive order Monday to officially authorize non- lethal military aid to the Syrian opposition, in order to prevent the use and proliferation of chemical weapons.
Chemical weapons were used at Ghouta, Syria, on Aug. 21 "on a relatively large scale resulting in numerous casualties, particularly among civilians and including many children," a UN report said Monday.
Russia on Monday criticized some Western countries for jumping to conclusions in favor of the Syrian opposition, saying all facts and questions " need to be addressed seriously and professionally."
U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Monday welcomed the UN report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, hailing it as a reinforcement of the U.S. previous assessment that "these attacks were carried out by the Syrian regime."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday received the report from the UN fact-finding group on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The United States and Russia reached an agreement on Saturday in Geneva on a framework to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons after the three-day intensive talks that started from Thursday in the Switzerland city.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Saturday welcomed a U.S.-Russian framework agreement on the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons.
The Japanese government on Sunday welcomed an agreement between the United States and Russia over the issue of Syrian chemical weapons, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.
Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi stressed Sunday his country's commitment to a Russian-U.S. deal struck a day earlier to ensure stripping Syria's chemical arsenal.
The United States said on Thursday the Syrian government's application for joining the Chemical Weapons Convention is "important," but cannot be a substitute for the verification and ultimate destroying of those weapons.
Syria will not fulfill agreement on chemical weapons control until the U.S. stops threatening it, President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday and Friday, to discuss Syria's chemical weapons, the State Department said Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Wednesday the Russian proposal for Syrian chemical weapons.
In fast moving events, the UN Security Council canceled on Tuesday an emergency late afternoon session on Syria following Russia's reported rejection of a tough French proposal for international control of Syria's chemical weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that placing Syrian chemical weapons under international control makes sense only if the U.S. drops its military strike plan against Syria.
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