The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Current affairs

Assad says he needs at least a year to eliminate chemical weapons‏

Assad says he needs at least a year to eliminate chemical weapons‏
19 September 2013
Joe Turnbull
Avatar
Joe Turnbull
19 September 2013

The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, has promised to get rid of Syria’s entire supply of chemical weapons, telling US TV channel Fox News that the process would take up to a year and cost $1 billion. The interview comes after Russia and the US agreed on a draft resolution to the UN to neutralise Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons.

Assad told Fox News he planned to go through with destroying the stockpile but warned “it needs a lot of money…. It is very detrimental to the environment. If the American administration is ready to pay this money and take the responsibility of bringing toxic materials to the United States, why don’t they do it?”

Assad maintained that he was not acting in response to the threat of a US strike but because of an agreement with their ally, Russia, and on the strength of his own “conviction”. He was also defiant when asked about the chemical weapons attack that was allegedly carried out by his forces, saying: “The whole story doesn’t even hold together. It’s not realistic. So, no, we didn’t. In one word, we didn’t use any chemical weapons in Ghouta.”

The UN report into the 21st August attack, published on Monday, found that chemical weapons were used but did not state who used them. Russia responded to the report calling it “distorted and one-sided”, as they believe the Syrian government handed them evidence that proved conclusively it was carried out by opposition forces.

By contrast, Human Rights Watch believe the UN report does implicate Assad’s forces implicitly as it reveals the direction and trajectory from which the missiles used to deliver the sarin gas came from, which it claims originated from a Republican Guard base.

Nevertheless, if Assad goes through with his promise to eradicate his stockpile of chemical weapons, that must surely reduce the chances of US military action, as it would make it far less justifiable to a public whom a recent CNN poll found were largely against military intervention.

Joe Turnbull

Related Items

More in Current Affairs

Changes to expect during menopause

The editorial unit
Read More

Nek brings Italian pop rock to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire

The editorial unit
Read More

Why Equity Linked Savings Schemes is a preferred tax saving?

The editorial unit
Read More

How the world’s top designers would rebrand political parties

The editorial unit
Read More

Royal baby furore: Proof that the British monarchy is still popular?

Eoin O’Sullivan-Harris
Read More

World Mental Health Day 2018: Raising awareness and combating stigma

The editorial unit
Read More

Seven political personalities you should know about

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • The White Tiger
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • 23 Walks
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Vince Cable says that an early coalition break-up is “possible”‏
Egyptian forces clash with militants outside Cairo