Amid Diplomatic Process on Syria, US Clings to Threat of Force

The United Nations has confirmed receipt of a letter signed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of his country’s intention to sign the international chemical weapons treaty and submit to its protocols, but the Secretary of State John Kerry says the threat of U.S. military force remains.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s office called the letter a “welcome development.” Referring to ongoing talks in Switzerland between the US and Russia that began on Thursday and continued Friday, the secretary general expressed “hopes that the current talks in Geneva will lead to speedy agreement on a way forward which will be endorsed and assisted by the international community.”

By joining the treaty, Syria—at least in theory—be compelled to divulge a catalog of its current chemical weapon stockpiles, their locations, and submit to a plan to hand them over for destruction. As many have pointed out, however, this will be no easy task, especially in the midst of an ongoing civil war and on U.S. demands that the process be done on shorter timeline than is usual.

In comments on Thursday from Geneva, Kerry reiterated that the U.S. position is that the threat of military force will continue to be used even as negotiations proceed.

From Al-Jazeera:

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