UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously late Friday on an ambitious plan requiring Syria to surrender its chemical weapons for destruction, but the pact does not spell out what penalties the government in Damascus might face if it doesn't comply.
U.S. and European diplomats concede that some of their toughest demands aimed at compelling Syria to obey the council's demands and holding perpetrators to account for using chemical weapons were removed from the final resolution at Russia's insistence.
The proposed agreement binds Syria to turn over its chemical arsenal but provides no automatic punishment if Syria balks. Enforcement would require further negotiation, setting up the prospect of further tussles between the United States and Russia, a close ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, which has fervently opposed the threat of force.
Still, the measure constituted the first legally binding action on Syria from the Security Council since the Syrian government launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters more than two years ago. Since then, the conflict has descended into a bloody civil war, leaving more than 100,000 dead, and threatening to engulf the region in sectarian conflict. Russia had previously blocked all attempts to punish or condemn Assad at the Security Council, which can order mandatory sanctions or military action.
"This is the first hopeful news on Syria for a long time," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki moon said after the vote. "Tonight, the international community has delivered."
The White House claimed victory, citing the prospect of weapons inspectors entering Syria as soon as next week to begin the work of auditing and dismantling the country's chemical stockpile. "This is something that we have long sought," President Barack Obama said at the White House on Friday. The deal worked out this week on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly will be "legally binding," and enforceable, Obama said, with "consequences for Syria's failure to meet what has been set forth in this resolution."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also claimed a diplomatic success. "No concessions have been made," he told Voice of Russia radio, according to Reuters. "The main thing is that the automatic use of Chapter 7 has been ruled out."
That refers to the section of the U.N. Charter allowing for sanctions or military force if a country fails to comply with a resolution. Sanctions or other punishments are still available to the Security Council if it finds Syria has failed to meet its commitments, but the penalties are not automatic.
The resolution says Syria "shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical weapons," or transfer them to others. In the event of noncompliance, the resolution says, the Security Council can "impose measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter."
Assad agreed to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program by the middle of 2014 under Russian pressure and following global outrage over an Aug. 21 sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people. It was the deadliest chemical attack in 25 years. The United States and its allies blamed the Assad government for the attack; Assad and his Russian backers said the rebels were responsible.
