FSA rejects US-Russia deal on Syria

The so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) has rejected a US-Russian deal to remove Syria’s chemical weapons arsenals by mid-2014.

Selim Idris, the chief of the FSA, told reporters in Istanbul on Saturday that the foreign-backed group does not accept any part of the initiative, and that the group will continue to fight to topple the Syrian government.

His comment came after US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced an agreement that would eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by mid-2014.

The pair held three days of talks in Geneva to discuss the Russian proposal to bring Damascus chemical weapons under international supervision.

Kerry urged the Syrian government to present a comprehensive list of its chemical weapons within a week. Kerry also said Damascus should allow UN inspectors to have immediate access to its chemical sites.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius welcomed the deal as a breakthrough, saying the plan is a significant step forward.

Fabius also stated that Paris would wait for the upcoming report of the UN team of inspectors into the chemical attack near the Syrian capital Damascus on August 21, before clarifying its stance on the Arab country.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also welcomed the deal as “a step forward.”

“I have spoken to Secretary Kerry. UK welcomes US-Russia agreement on Syria chemical weapons. Urgent work on implementation now to take place,” Hague wrote on Twitter.

The war rhetoric against Syria first gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the country and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus.

The Syrian government categorically rejected the allegation, saying the militants carried out the attack to draw in military intervention.