Kerry talks tough in Syria encounter with Russia

[Tx4obama]

Kerry talks tough in Syria encounter with Russia

Sep 12, 9:01 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) -- Striking a tough tone, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opened swiftly convened talks with Russia on Syria's chemical weapons Thursday by bluntly rejecting a Syrian pledge to begin a "standard process" by turning over information rather than weapons - and nothing immediately.

That won't do, Kerry declared at an opening news conference, a stone-faced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at his side. "The words of the Syrian regime in our judgment are simply not enough."

"This is not a game," Kerry said of the latest developments in a series that has rapidly gone from deadly chemical attacks to threats of retaliatory U.S. air strikes to Syrian agreement with a Russian plan to turn over the weapons and, finally, to the crucial matter of working out the difficult details.

"We believe there is nothing standard about this process at this moment because of the way the regime has behaved," Kerry declared. And he kept alive the threat of U.S. military action, saying the turnover of weapons must be complete, verifiable and timely - "and finally, there ought to consequences if it doesn't take place."

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Full article here: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_UNITED_STATES_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-12-21-01-48

A Good Read

[Thinkingabout]

1. Kerry needs to stand strong, Syria should not get any wiggle

Room. This is a terrible incident, should never have happened and never should children have to die a terrible death.