Saturday,  Sept. 14, 2013 • Vol. 15--No. 61 • 34 of 48

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Uzumcu, spoke of adopting "necessary measures" to put in place "an accelerated program to verify the complete destruction" of Syria's chemical weapons, production facilities and "other relevant capabilities."
• The U.S. and Russia are two of the five permanent Security Council members with a veto. The others are Britain, China, and France.
• "There is an agreement between Russia and the United States that non-compliance is going to be held accountable within the Security Council under Chapter 7," Kerry said. "What remedy is chosen is subject to the debate within the council, which is always true. But there's a commitment to impose measures."
• Lavrov indicated there would be limits to using such a resolution.
• "Any violations of procedures ... would be looked at by the Security Council and if they are approved, the Security Council would take the required measures, concrete measures," Lavrov said. "Nothing is said about the use of force or about any automatic sanctions."
• Kerry spoke of a commitment, in the event of Syrian noncompliance, to "impose measures commensurate with whatever is needed in terms of the accountability."
• The agreement offers no specific penalties. Given that a thorough investigation of any allegation of noncompliance is required before any possible action, Moscow could drag out the process or veto measures it deems too harsh.
• Kerry stressed that the U.S. believes the threat of force is necessary to back the diplomacy, and U.S. officials have Obama retains the right to launch military strikes without U.N. approval to protect American national security interests.
• "I have no doubt that the combination of the threat of force and the willingness to pursue diplomacy helped to bring us to this moment," Kerry said.
• But a leading U.S. senator expressed concerns that without the threat of force, it's not clear "how Syrian compliance will be possible under the terms of any agreement."
• Republican lawmaker Bob Corker of Tennessee said Syria's "willingness to follow through is very much an open question" and he did not want the negotiations to signal a "retreat from our broader national interests," including support for "moderate" opposition forces in Syria.
• U.N. inspectors were preparing to submit their own report. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that he expected "an overwhelming report" that chemical weapons were indeed used on the outskirts of Damascus on Aug. 21.
• A U.N. statement said Ban hoped the agreement will prevent further use of such weapons and "help pave the path for a political solution to stop the appalling suffering inflicted on the Syrian people."

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