CAIRO, Qahirah- The Arab League will back a Russian plan to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international supervision for eventual destruction, the group’s chief said on Tuesday.
Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi told reporters in Cairo the League will “soon issue a statement announcing its support officially” for the Russian plan.
Moscow made the surprise proposal on Monday. It is aimed at averting punitive US strikes against the Damascus regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
“If you remember, I always insisted that (the Syrian conflict) needs a political solution,” Arabi said.
On September 1, the League urged the United Nations and the international community to take “deterrent” action against the Syrian regime over the alleged chemical attacks near Damascus.
“The United Nations and the international community are called upon to assume their responsibilities in line with the UN Charter and international law by taking the necessary deterrent measures” following the August 21 suspected chemical attacks, the Arab League foreign ministers said in a statement.
But they fell short of calling for military strikes as proposed by Washington, amid divisions in Arab ranks with several countries opposed to foreign intervention in Syria.
The Arab League has suspended Syria as a member and replaced it with the main opposition coalition.
Syria’s conflict has killed more than 110,000 people since it began in March 2011.
