10/09/2013 16:53
Syria opposition dismisses Russian proposal
Syria's main opposition bloc on Tuesday urged the West to strike Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime despite Russia's initiative to have Damascus surrender its chemical weapons to international control, dismissing the proposal as maneuver to escape punishment, The Associated Press reported.
Even as the Syrian National Coalition tried to push back against the proposal, momentum for it was building. In Moscow, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday that Damascus accepts the initiative, saying it did so to "uproot U.S. aggression."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that Assad could resolve the crisis by surrendering control of "every single bit" of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week.
The SNC, which is the main political opposition umbrella group, has been cheering for international military action, hoping a blow would shift the bloody war of attrition between rebels and Assad's forces, with more than 100,000 dead in more than 2 ½ years of fighting.
In a statement Tuesday, the coalition said Moscow's proposal "aims to procrastinate and will lead to more death and destruction of the Syrian people."
"A violation of international law should lead to an international retaliation that is proportional in size," the group said. "Crimes against humanity cannot be dropped by giving political concessions or by handing over the weapons used in these crimes."