Barack ObamaRELATED STORY
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander opposes use of military force in Syria
Obama, Putin talked about securing Syria chemical armsWASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a potential plan for Syria to turn over its chemical weapons to international control.Syria has welcomed an idea floated Monday for it to hand over chemical weapons for destruction to avoid a U.S. military strike. The public proposal from Russia followed what seemed to be an offhand remark by Secretary of State John Kerry. The U.N. secretary-general also backs the idea.Obama tells PBS’ “NewsHour” that he and Putin did speak about it last week while Obama was in St. Petersburg, Russia, for an economic summit. Obama and Putin had an impromptu chat Friday for about 20 minutes.Obama says it was a continuation of previous conversations he’s had with Putin about securing Syria’s chemical weapons.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says a proposal to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control to avoid U.S. military strikes could be a potential breakthrough.
Obama told NBC News in an interview Monday that he remains skeptical that Syria will follow through and turn over its stockpile, so he’s taking a statement from Damascus, quote, “with a grain of salt initially.” But he says he would prefer to have a diplomatic solution to the crisis rather than launch a military attack, and called it “a potentially positive development.”
Secretary of State John Kerry suggested earlier Monday that Syria could avoid a potential U.S. air attack by putting its chemical weapons under international control. Syria’s ally Russia quickly took the idea to Syria’s foreign minister, who said Damascus welcomes the proposal.