Syrian president Bashar al-Assad will never negotiate a political solution if he believes he can use chemical weapons "with impunity", US secretary of state John Kerry said yesterday.
Following a meeting with British foreign secretary William Hague in London, Mr Kerry acknowledged that military action on its own would not resolve Syria's crisis.
"If one party believes that he can rub out countless numbers of his own citizens with impunity using chemicals that have been banned for nearly 100 years because of what Europe learned in World War One, if he can do that with impunity he will never come to a negotiating table," he said.
US attacks on Syria would be "unbelievably small", said Mr Kerry, who said Dr Assad could hand over his cache of chemical weapons within a week, "but he won't do it".
He rejected the belief held by some that middle-ranking military officers ordered the use of chemical weapons in Damascus last month, and not Dr Assad.
International control
Mr Kerry's comments came in advance of Moscow's declaration that the Syrian leader could put his chemical weapons under international control. However, he indicated that the US would believe that such a move would simply give Dr Assad weeks, if not months, to continue other types of military action.
“He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week, turn it over, all of it without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that. But he isn’t about to do it and it can’t be done obviously,” he said.
Only three people are responsible for the chemical weapons inside Syria – Dr Assad, one of his brothers and a senior general, Mr Kerry told journalists in London.
The secretary of state's presence in London was particularly welcomed by Downing Street, following MPs' refusal to join a US-led attack on Syria. Emphasising the importance of US ties with London, Mr Kerry said: "The relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom has often been described as special, essential and it has been described thusly quite simply because it is. It was before a vote the other day in parliament and it will be for long afterwards after that vote."
He added that the bond was “bigger than one vote, it’s bigger than one moment in history. It’s about values. It’s about rules and the road, rules by which human beings try to organise their societies.”
Following Russia’s intervention on the question of putting the Assad regime’s chemical weapons under UN control, prime minister David Camerresponded positively but cautiously, saying if it was a genuine offer, it should be regarded as a big step forward.
Number 10 initially indicated that Mr Kerry’s proposal was not serious, pointing out that the idea had not been raised during discussions on Syria at the G20 dinner in Saint Petersburg.
But in a Commons debate on the G20 and Syria, Mr Cameron said it would be "hugely welcome" if the Assad regime were to hand over its chemical weapons stockpile. – (Additional reporting Guardian)
