U.S., Allies Push for Strong U.N. Resolution on Syria

PARIS—The U.S. and its top European allies were working Monday to establish a strong United Nations Security Council resolution that would force Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to dismantle his chemical-weapons arsenal without alienating Russia, Syria’s chief backer.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his French and U.K. counterparts offered little indication during a joint press appearance that a new U.N. resolution will call for a use of force against the Assad regime if it doesn’t comply.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
French Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius, center, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and British Foreign Affairs Secretary William Hague, left, give a press conference after talks on the Syria crisis on Monday in Paris, France.

Rather, the three officials vaguely described economic sanctions and other penalties that could be enforced against Damascus under a binding Chapter 7 resolution at the Security Council, but there was no mention of the approval of military action.
“What we achieve in this agreement…has to be strong, has to be forceful,” Mr. Kerry said following a trilateral meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague in Paris. “What we are talking about here is an effective action.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government is working with the Obama administration to enforce a disarmament agreement with Syria that aims to completely dismantle Mr. Assad’s chemical-weapons arsenal by mid-2014. But Russian officials have repeatedly stated in recent days that they would veto any military action at the Security Council if Mr. Assad balks.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned about sticking to the spirit of Geneva agreement.

“We clearly agreed with John Kerry how to act,” Mr. Lavrov said at a news conference.
Mr. Kerry has said that the Obama administration retains the right to launch strikes outside the U.N. if Syria doesn’t comply. So far, France has been the only Western government that said it would support the U.S. in such a military action.
Mr. Kerry forged a formal agreement on disarming Syria with Mr. Lavrov in Geneva on Saturday. Washington and Moscow hope their framework will form the basis of the new U.N. resolution, and Mr. Kerry is meeting with European and Middle East allies in Paris—including the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Turkey—to win their support.
Messrs. Fabius and Hague both said they backed the joint-U.S., Russian initiative, but only as a first step toward ending Syria’s civil war and ending Mr. Assad’s rule.
“The Syrian regime has no choice but to commit to eliminating these chemical weapons,” Mr. Fabius said. “What matters is that the agreement is quickly implemented…All of the options remain on the table.”

Syria in the Spotlight
Track the latest events in a map, see the key players and a chronology of the unrest.

The three Western leaders also countered the criticism made by some Syrian opposition leaders that the U.S.-Russian initiative could legitimize Mr. Assad’s regime and prolong its existence as the weapons inspectors play out.
“Nothing we have done is to give any notion to Assad that there is legitimacy in this process,” Mr. Kerry said at the news conference.
Mr. Fabius added: “Without chemical weapons, he can’t use them against his people or his neighbors. He will be weakened.”
—James Marson in Moscow contributed to this article.
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com

Read this article: U.S., Allies Push for Strong U.N. Resolution on Syria