Russia hails Syrian statement on chemical weapons as important step towards settling crisis – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the Syrian decision to become a full member of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction as an important step towards settling the crisis in Syria,according to Voice of Russia, ITAR-TASS.

“The Syrian representative to the UN has just said that Syria will become a full member of the Convention today. I think we should welcome this decision of the Syrian administration,” Putin said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek.

“I’d like to think that this will be a very significant step towards settling the crisis in Syria,” the Russian president said.

“This is a confirmation of the sincere intention of the Syrian government to follow this path,” Putin noted.

It’s important to promote idea of establishing int’l control over Syrian chemical weapons – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin again said a military intervention in Syria is unacceptable and pointed out the need to promote the initiative to establish international control over chemical weapons in Syria.

“Syria is the focus of our attention now. We consider external military intervention in this country without a sanction from the UN Security Council unacceptable,” Putin said at a meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the SCO member-countries in Bishkek.

“The recent diplomatic efforts have helped reduce the immediate threat of a military operation,” Putin said. “A large role in this context was played by the promotion of the initiative to establish an international team to monitor chemical weapons in Syria,” he said.

M.D