- By
- JANET HOOK
- And
- JARED A. FAVOLE
- CONNECT
European Pressphoto AgencyPresident Barack Obama walks along the colonnade of the White House to the Oval Office on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON—The White House said President Barack Obama has agreed to explore a Russian-backed proposal that would have Syria hand over its chemical weapons, while senators worked on new legislation to authorize a strike but provide time for a diplomatic alternative.
A White House official said Mr. Obama spoke separately with France's President François Holland and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, and they agreed to work "closely together, and in consultation with Russia and China, to explore seriously the viability of the Russian proposal to put all Syrian chemical weapons and related materials fully under international control in order to ensure their verifiable and enforceable destruction."
Earlier in the day, the French government said it would submit a resolution to the United Nations Security Council aimed at forcing Syria to give international inspectors full access to its chemical stockpile and allow for its swift dismantlement.
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Russia later called that resolution "unacceptable," citing the French proposal's use of Chapter 7, which would potentially authorize the use of force, as well as language that laid blame for using chemical weapons on the Syrian government. Russia said it would instead propose a draft declaration backing an initiative to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control.
The fast-moving developments on the diplomatic front came as Mr. Obama traveled to the Capitol to meet with Senate Democrats and Republicans, and ahead of his planned speech Tuesday night. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel again testified on Capitol Hill to press the case for military action in Syria.
Mr. Obama has struggled to gain traction in his push for an authorization from Congress on the use of force, and polls show the American public to be deeply skeptical of an attack.
Mr. Kerry set off the diplomatic scramble Monday when he suggested that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avert an attack by promptly handing over his chemical weapons to the international community. Russia, a close ally of Syria, quickly declared its support for such a plan and on Tuesday Syria said it would relinquish control of its chemical-weapon stockpiles.
On Tuesday, however, Mr. Kerry cautioned that it would be "exceedingly difficult" for Syria to meet the international community's conditions for giving up its chemical weapons and avoiding a U.S. military response. Mr. Kerry told the House Armed Services Committee that the U.S. would consider the evolving Russian proposal, but wouldn't sidetrack the effort to win congressional approval for a military strike. "We're waiting for that proposal, but we're not waiting for long," he said.
The alternative resolution being drafted in the Senate would call for the U.N. to pass a measure declaring that Syria had used chemical weapons and to remove them by a certain date, a person familiar with the effort said. The date was still being negotiated but if the weapons aren't removed by that deadline, the resolution would authorize the president to launch limited military action.
"This is a way of both keeping the pressure on Syria and on Russia to get rid of the chemical weapons, which is the goal of this whole effort, but secondly, if they fail, then it would keep the authority to launch a strike," Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), one of the lawmakers working on the measure, told reporters Tuesday.
The bipartisan Senate group also includes John McCain (R., Ariz.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.).
Reaction on Capitol Hill to a possible diplomatic breakthrough was mixed. House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), who has backed using force in Syria, said he would prefer a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in Syria, but voiced doubts over the proposal.
"Diplomacy is always a better outcome than military action, but I will say I am somewhat skeptical of those that are involved in the diplomatic discussions today," Mr. Boehner said. "I'm skeptical of it because of the actors involved," referring to Russia and Syria.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said that if the Russian plan "isn't real, and the military sees an opportunity that is ideal," she would recommend that Mr. Obama "go forward" with a military strike. "We'll have time to discuss all the rest of it, but go forward because I don't believe that he needs the authorization," Mrs. Pelosi said.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D., Calif.), who has long been opposed to a military strike, said she was "cautiously optimistic" about Russia's proposal. She said she is also introducing an alternative that would include Russia's proposal for international control of Syria's chemical stockpiles as well as going to the U.N. General Assembly to get some action from the International Criminal Court. "There a variety of alternatives to military strikes that would lead to the same place," she said.
Mr. Obama said in interviews Monday with major television networks that any deal with Syria requires a credible threat of U.S. force to be successful. But he faces a public increasingly unconvinced of the need for U.S. military action, with 58% of Americans saying Congress should turn down his request for approval to launch an attack, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
Mr. Obama said the chemical-weapons proposal was a positive development but expressed skepticism that the Assad regime would follow through. He said the potential for a nonmilitary solution wouldn't have emerged without a credible military threat from the U.S. and therefore he would continue to pressure the Assad regime.
"I think it is important for us not to let, you know, the pedal off the metal when it comes to making sure that they understand we mean what we say about these international bans on chemical weapons," Mr. Obama said in an interview with Fox News.
Support for military strikes in Congress has waned. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) announced his opposition to the use-of-force resolution Tuesday morning, saying the proposal "doesn't pass muster" and that he was "dumbfounded at the ham-handed manner" in which the White House has handled the situation in Syria. By Tuesday morning, some 31 senators were against or leaning against a military intervention, while just 21 were in favor, according to a count compiled by The Wall Street Journal.
The president may be able to persuade some lawmakers ahead of his prime-time speech. He is heading to Capitol Hill to meet with senators from both parties, separately, Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Obama's argument for military action so far has been that the use of chemical weapons can't go unpunished because it would raise questions about whether America's moral authority was waning, threaten America's credibility on the world stage and embolden terrorists and dictators.
—Gregory L. White, Kristina Peterson, Dion Nissenbaum and Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article.Write to Janet Hook at [email protected] and Jared A. Favole at [email protected]
