Supporters of Syrian regime, raise up !

Supporters of Syrian regime, raise up placards featuring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a demonstration against a possible U.S. military strike on Syria on September 7, 2013 in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. Photographer: Mahmous Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad set what may be unacceptable conditions for the U.S. in negotiating a chemical-weapons deal, saying it must be a “two-way street” in which the Obama administration drops its military threats and stops arming Syrian rebels.

Assad outlined his terms as Secretary of State John Kerry staked out the opposite course in a phone call to Syrian opposition figures -- that the option of a U.S. military strike remains on the table and that the U.S. will continue to stand by the rebels, according to a State Department official who asked not to be named because the call was private.
Assad’s comments, broadcast by Russia’s state-run Rossiya 24 news channel, highlight the hurdles facing Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who began negotiations in Geneva on a deal for international monitors to take charge of Syria’s estimated 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons until those arms can be destroyed.

VIDEO: Lavrov, Kerry on Outlook for Syrian Weapons Talks

“First of all, the U.S. needs to stop its policy of threats against Syria,” Assad said, according to a translation of his first public comments since Russia announced its diplomatic initiative this week. “It also depends on whether Russia’s proposal is accepted. When we see that the U.S. really wants stability in our region and stops threatening and moving towards strikes, and also stops supplying weapons to terrorists, then we will see that we complete the necessary processes and they’ll be acceptable to Syria.”

Citing Israel

Assad repeated his claim that the rebels were responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack, which the U.S. blames on the regime and says killed more than 1,400 people. The Syrian leader also took issue with Israel, saying its longtime adversary has “all kinds of weapons of mass destruction” that also should be eliminated.
Speaking to reporters alongside Kerry before their talks, Lavrov said Russia seeks a deal that “will make unnecessary any strike” on Syria. Kerry said “expectations are high” for Russia “to deliver on the promise of the moment.”

VIDEO: Obama's Own Words on Syria Chemical Arms, Diplomacy

The diplomatic initiative by Russia has led President Barack Obama to put off moves toward military strikes on Syria even as he and other officials have said they are uncertain whether the talks will succeed.
“President Obama has made clear that, should diplomacy fail, force might be necessary to deter and degrade Assad’s capacity” to use chemical weapons, Kerry said in Geneva.

Syrian Documents

Syria today submitted to the United Nations a document to begin the process of joining the Chemical Weapons Convention, a UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters. The international accord bans the use of chemical weapons and requires the disclosure and elimination of such arms.
Syria would start providing information on its chemical weapons about a month after it signs the accord, Assad said in the interview with the Russian broadcaster.
Kerry said that the U.S. considers that too slow. While Assad may regard 30 days as standard procedure under the convention, “we believe there is nothing standard about this process at this moment because of the way the regime has behaved,” the top U.S. diplomat said.
Kerry also said that any agreement on Syria’s action should include “consequences if it doesn’t take place” since the words of the regime, “in our judgment, are simply not enough.”
That may be a reference to devising a UN Security Council resolution with a provision invoking Chapter 7 of the UN charter authorizing military action if peaceful efforts fail. France has advocated that approach. Russia has blocked previous council efforts aimed at punishing the Assad regime.

Opposition Leaders

In Geneva, Kerry told the Syrian opposition leaders by phone that he is seeking tangible commitments that the Russians are interested in achieving a strong, credible and enforceable agreement to rapidly identify, verify, secure and ultimately destroy Assad’s chemical weapons stockpile, the State Department official said.
Kerry said he is entering the talks from a position of skepticism, the official said of the call with Syrian Opposition Coalition President Ahmad al-Jarba and the top rebel commander, General Salim Idris.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a rare direct appeal to the American people, used a New York Times opinion piece to urge the Obama administration to take the diplomatic instead of the military route to solving the Syrian crisis.