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September 19, 2013

Assad: U.S. Threats Didn't Trigger Move on Chemical Weapons 
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Syrian President Basher al-Assad is rejecting U.S. claims that the
threat of force spurred his decision to abandon chemical weapons.
Speaking to Fox News, Assad said Syria proposed a chemical-free zone in
the Middle East a decade ago, but the United States was opposed.

Syrian President Basher al-Assad: "No, actually it’s not now. If you
go back 10 years ago, when we were a non-permanent member of the
Security Council in 2003, we proposed to the United Nations, to the
Security Council, a Syrian proposal to get rid of the WMDs from the
Middle East, to have chemical-free zone or WMD-free zone in the Middle
East. And actually, the United States opposed that proposal."

In his comments, Assad also again denied carrying out last month's
chemical attack in Ghouta that killed hundreds of people. A U.N. report
this week said the attack came from areas controlled by Assad's regime,
but Assad says Russian intelligence reports reached an opposite
conclusion. Assad also said the disposal of Syria's chemical weapons
will take about one year and cost around a billion dollars.

 

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