Joel Gehrke
Washington Examiner
Sept. 12, 2013
President Obama must promise not to arm rebel forces or Syrian
dictator Bashar Assad will not hand over his chemical weapons, the
embattled leader told a Russian state media outlet today while demanding
that Israel also surrender its nuclear arsenal.
“When we see that the U.S. genuinely stands for stability in our
region, stops threatening us with military intervention and stops
supplying terrorists with weapons, then we will consider it possible to
finalize all necessary procedures and they will become legitimate and
acceptable for Syria,” Assad told RIA News.
Obama asked Congress to postpone a vote authorizing use of military force in Syria after Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to broker a deal whereby the U.S. would not attack the Assad regime if he surrendered his chemical weapons.
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