The Syrian government has accepted a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said here Tuesday.
"We held a round of very effective talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday. He proposed a chemical weapons initiative and we accepted the Russian initiative later that evening," Xinhua quoted al-Moualem as saying after he had met State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin.
According to the minister, Syria made the decision in order to "stave off an American aggression", Interfax news agency reported.