Syria's foreign minister says his country welcomes Russia's proposal for it to place its chemical weapons under international control and then dismantle them quickly to avert US strikes.
The statement from Walid al-Moallem came a few hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry said Syrian President Bashar Assad could resolve the crisis surrounding the alleged use of chemical weapons by his forces by surrendering control of "every single bit" of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week.
Hours after Kerry's statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would urge Syria to quickly put its chemical weapons under international control, then dismantle them.
Lavrov, who held talks with al-Moallem in Moscow earlier in the day, said he expected a quick positive answer from Damascus.
However, Al-Moallem wouldn't give any further details in his brief statement and did not take any questions.
