UK signals support for Syria CW plan

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has signaled support for a Russian proposal designed to put Syrian chemical weapons under control.

Speaking at the House of Commons on Thursday, Hague said Moscow’s initiative has to be taken “seriously” and its “sincerity” must be tested as British Prime Minister David Cameron had formerly announced.

He also called for a United Nations Security Council resolution to specify a deadline for placing Syrian chemical weapons under international control.

“We remain committed to helping bring about a political settlement,” Hague said.

The British foreign secretary also referred to his meeting with leaders of the so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC) in London earlier this month, saying the two sides discussed ways the UK government could provide further non-lethal support to foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government.

Earlier this week, in a news conference in South Africa’s Cape Town, Hague claimed that any “credible” UN resolution on Syria must contain the threat of force.

Russia’s proposal to Damascus to put its chemical stockpile under international control was made during a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Syrian counterpart Muallem in Moscow on September 9 in an attempt to prevent the US aggression against Syria.

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

The Syrian government categorically rejects the claim and says the attack had been carried out by the militants to draw in military intervention.