U.S. 'blackmailing' Russia on Syria, Lavrov says
By Matt Smith and Jill Dougherty, CNN
updated 1:50 PM EDT, Sun September 22, 2013
(CNN) -- Russia's top diplomat Sunday accused the United States of "blackmailing" Moscow into backing tough ground rules for Syria's chemical disarmament that would include the threat of force if Syria balks.
Syria has agreed to give up its arsenal of chemical weapons under international pressure and delivered an inventory of its poison gas stocks to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the weekend. But U.N. Security Council members are still trying to hammer out a resolution to outline the process, with Russia and Western powers at odds over the language.
In a Sunday interview on Russian television, Lavrov said Washington was threatening to sink the deal unless the resolution was drawn up under Chapter VII of the U.N. charter, which would authorize the use of force against Syria if it doesn't comply. As Syria's leading ally, Russia has opposed threats of military action.
"The U.S. partners are blackmailing us," Lavrov told the state-owned Channel One network. "They say they will quit the work at the OPCW in The Hague if Russia does not back the resolution based on Chapter VII at the U.N. Security Council."
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/22/world/meast/syria-civil-war/
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