Obama to try diplomatic solution on Syria’s chemical weapons

President Barack Obama pledged on Tuesday to explore a diplomatic plan from Russia to take away Syria’s chemical weapons, but voiced skepticism about it and urged Americans to support his threat to use military force if needed.

Faced with resistance in polls and Congress to the use of force against Syria, Obama said a Russian offer to pressure President Bashar al-Assad to place his government’s chemical weapons under international control raised the chances of putting off the limited military strike that he is considering.

“Over the last few days, we’ve seen some encouraging signs,” Obama said in televised speech from the White House that attempted to offer a clear case for why it is in Americans’ interests to intervene in Syria’s civil war.

Obama asked leaders in Congress to put off a vote on his request to authorize the use of military force to let diplomacy play out. He said U.S. Navy ships in the eastern Mediterranean and other forces in the region are in place and ready to respond should diplomacy fail.