08:03
Tieng Anh Vui
A plan to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control could avert a military strike, the UK has said.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said it would be a "major step forward" if Damascus were to agree to a Russian proposal to give up its stockpiles.
But he said there were immense obstacles to overcome first.
Mr Hague was updating the Commons on the crisis before Westminster breaks for a month so MPs can attend party conferences.
The UK and US are due to meet later to discuss Moscow's proposal.
"This initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force," the foreign secretary said.
He said the the proposal must be "taken seriously", but struck a note of caution, warning: "This is a regime that has lied for years about possessing chemical weapons, that still denies that it has used them."
'Powerful foreign patrons'
It comes as the US presses for an international response to a suspected sarin gas attack last month.
Chemical weapons plan timeline
5-6 Sep: Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama discuss idea of placing Syria's chemical weapons under international control, on sidelines of G20 summit
9 Sep: Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, says he has urged Syria to hand in chemical weapons and have them destroyed; Syria welcomes plan
10 Sep: Syria's foreign minister makes first public admission of the regime's chemical weapons stockpile; commits Syria to Russian plan. President Obama postpones Congress vote on military action and says he will give Russian plan a chance
12 Sep: US Secretary of State John Kerry due to meet Mr Lavrov in Geneva
Hundreds of people were killed in the atrocity, which America and the UK have blamed on Syrian government forces.
Writing in the New York Times Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Moscow's belief the opposition was behind the attack "to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons".
But Mr Hague told MPs: "All the evidence continues to point in one direction," adding: "The international consensus that the regime was responsible is growing."
He also accused Labour of seeking credit for the burgeoning international diplomatic efforts.
"It's like the story of the cockerel that thought its crowing brought about the dawn," he said, referring to the opposition's vote against a government motion that could have paved the way for UK military involvement.
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander had earlier suggested a US strike would have happened by now "if the motion had been passed".
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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