Obama administration reaches Syria weapons deal with Russia

The United States has reached a deal with Russia on Syria’s chemical weapons, President Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to take up the resolution Thursday evening, Samantha Power tweeted. A vote could come next week.

{mosads}The resolution does not contain an automatic trigger if Syrian President Bashar Assad fails to turn over his arsenal to the international community, but it would require any punitive action to be considered anew by the Security Council, a Russian demand.

“Agreement reached w/Russia on UNSC Resolution legally obligating Syria to give up CW they used on their people. Going to full UNSC tonight,” Power tweeted. “The draft UNSCR establishes that Syria’s use of CW is threat to international peace & security & creates a new norm against the use of CW.”

Russia offered to broker a deal for Assad to turn over his weapons after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters earlier this month that doing so could avert a possible U.S. military strike. Diplomats have been debating since then on how to enforce the deal.

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