US weighs talk of Syria dumping chemical weapons

WASHINGTON (AP) A possible diplomatic solution to avoid a U.S. military strike arose Monday as Syria swiftly welcomed a suggestion floated by Secretary of State John Kerry to move all of the country's chemical weapons under international control. The White House said it was looking at Syria's statement with skepticism and continued its efforts to sell the notion of a strike to reluctant Congress members.

The diplomatic opening followed a remarkable chain of events that started with Kerry's suggestion, followed by a proposal from Russia and immediate endorsement by the U.N. secretary-general.

The developments could provide President Barack Obama with a way out of a messy political and foreign policy bind, though the matter was far from settled.

The Obama administration tried to play down the significance of Kerry's comments and scoffed at Russia's prospects for success but ended up saying it would consider the idea. Obama pressed ahead with efforts to win congressional backing for U.S. military action, and officials insisted that Syrian President Bashar Assad's government must be held accountable for using chemical weapons regardless of what happens to its stocks.

Kerry told reporters in London early Monday that Assad could resolve the crisis surrounding the use of chemical weapons by surrendering control of "every single bit" of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week.

Hours later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov promised to push its ally Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control and then dismantle them quickly to avert U.S. strikes. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem immediately embraced the proposal.

Then in quick succession, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged acceptance, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the idea was worth exploring and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said it "deserves close examination." Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said any move by Syria to surrender its chemical weapons would be an "important step."

That seemed to raise prospects for avoiding an expansion of the Syrian civil war, and spokesmen said the Obama administration would take a "hard look" at the proposal.

The White House cast Russia's proposal as a direct result of the pressure being felt by Syria because of the threat of a U.S. strike and warned that it would not allow the idea to be used as a stalling tactic.

"Any positive reaction to the suggestion that they would forsake their chemical weapons by the Syrian government would never have been forthcoming if it weren't for the fact that there is a credible threat of U.S. military action," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

"We would welcome any development - and would have for some time now - that would result in the international control of and the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile," he added.

Carney sidestepped questions on whether the U.S. and Russia had coordinated Monday's proposal, saying only, "There are ongoing conversations on this matter at the highest level." Still, he called the Russian proposal "a potential avenue."

The State Department sought to tamp down the potential impact of Kerry's comments by calling them a "rhetorical" response to a hypothetical question and not "a proposal."

Kerry spoke by phone with Lavrov shortly after making his comments in London, and officials familiar with the call said Lavrov had told Kerry that he had seen the remarks and would be issuing a public statement. Kerry made clear that his comments were rhetorical and were not meant to be a proposal, according to the officials. They added that Kerry told Lavrov that the U.S. was not going to "play games," but the U.S. would be willing to review a serious proposal. They stressed that he made clear that Lavrov could not present the idea as a joint U.S.-Russian proposal.

The officials commented only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the information publicly.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. had "serious skepticism" about Syria's statement because it might be merely a stalling tactic. She said Syria had consistently refused to destroy its chemical weapons in the past.

In fact, she said the developments made it even more important for Congress to authorize the use of force against Syria as a means for pushing Assad to actually get rid of chemical weapons stocks.

Obama prepared his final public arguments for military action before Congress holds its first vote on the issue this week. But he faces a decidedly uphill fight and serious doubts by the American public.

A new Associated Press poll shows a majority of Americans oppose a U.S. strike on Syria. Most of those surveyed said they believe even limited strikes would lead to a long-term military commitment. The poll was released Monday and conducted Sept. 6-8.

Obama was taping six television network interviews for late Monday and administration officials were briefing more members of Congress as they returned from summer recess. Obama will address the nation Tuesday night.

The U.S. accuses Assad's government of being behind an attack using sarin gas in a Damascus suburb on Aug. 21, killing 1,429 people. Some other estimates of the deaths are lower, but there is wide agreement that chemical weapons were used.

In an interview broadcast Monday on "CBS This Morning," Assad denied responsibility, accused the Obama administration of spreading lies without providing a "single shred of evidence," and warned that air strikes against his nation could bring retaliation. Pressed on what that might include, Assad responded, "I'm not fortune teller."

Later Monday, Syria's foreign minister, meeting with his Russian counterpart in Moscow, addressed the idea of getting rid of any chemical weapons.

"Syria welcomes the Russian proposal out of concern for the lives of the Syrian people, the security of our country and because it believes in the wisdom of the Russian leadership that seeks to avert American aggression against our people," said al-Moallem.

Russia's proposal provided confirmation from Syria's most important international ally that the Syrian government possesses chemical weapons, and al-Moallem's welcome was a tacit acknowledgment. Syria's foreign ministry last year retracted a threat to use chemical weapons, saying it was not acknowledging that it had them.

U.S. officials in Washington initially said they were surprised by Kerry's comments, which came at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary William Hague and in response to a question about what, if anything, Assad could do to stop the U.S. from punishing it for the use of chemical weapons.

"Sure," Kerry replied. "He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. Turn it over, all of it, without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that. But he isn't about to do it, and it can't be done, obviously."

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Zeina Karam in Beirut, Connie Cass in Washington and Edith Lederer at the U.N. contributed to this report.