Eurasia Press & News
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has welcomed a draft resolution of the U.N. Security Council to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons.
The resolution itself is important, Davutoğlu said Sept. 27, since the Security Council has considered the Syrian crisis as an issue which threatens peace and security. Henceforth, the Syrian problem would be in front of the Council, the minister said in a televised interview. The resolution is a “text which would pave the way for implementation,” he noted.
The text says the council “decides in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter.” It says the council would “promptly” consider measures if the world chemical weapons watchdog or U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon reported a breach of a Russia-U.S. disarmament plan.
Chapter seven can allow sanctions or military force. But diplomats said there would have to be a new vote for any action and predicted there would be a fierce new debate with Russia. Davutoğlu welcomed a reference to Chapter VII and appraised that the draft resolution does not ignore “earlier crimes” in Syria. “There is accountability in the resolution,” he said. “The draft said ‘those who commuted this crime will be brought to account.’” However, Davutoğlu expressed his dissatisfaction on “humanitarian dimension” of the resolution, concerning which he said Turkey has submitted some proposals.
