Sudan welcomes Russia plan to avoid Syria war

Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed a plan initiated by Russia to put Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile under international control.

In a Tuesday statement, the ministry also acclaimed Damascus’ acceptance of the plan which is aimed at averting US military action on Syria over its alleged chemical weapons use.

The statement also rejected any military intervention in Syria, saying peaceful solutions must be used for resolving the crisis.

The plan was offered during a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Muallem, in Moscow on Monday.

On Tuesday, al-Muallem said, “We want to join the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. We are ready to observe our obligations in accordance with that convention, including providing all information about these weapons.”

“We are ready to declare the location of the chemical weapons, stop production of the chemical weapons, and show these (production) facilities to representatives of Russia and other United Nations member states,” he added.

The war rhetoric against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the Assad government of launching the chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.

Damascus has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. The United Nations has reported that more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence.