WASHINGTON -- Syria's foreign minister on Monday welcomed a suggestion to put the country's chemical weapons under international control to avoid a possible U.S. military attack, even as President Barack Obama prepared his final public arguments for such strikes before Congress holds its first vote on the issue this week.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a news conference in London that if Syrian President Bashar Assad wanted to defuse the crisis, "he could turn every single bit of his chemical weapons over to the international community" within a week. He added that Assad "isn't about to do it." His comments surprised U.S. officials in Washington.
But Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem quickly welcomed the idea after Russia's foreign minister took Kerry's remarks to him and announced that Moscow will push Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control. Russia is Syria's top ally.
It was the first official acknowledgement by Damascus that it possesses chemical weapons. Al-Moallem wouldn't give details in his brief statement and didn't take questions.
The U.S. blames the Assad regime for an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack that the Obama administration says killed more than 1,400 people. The United States, citing intelligence reports, says the lethal nerve agent sarin was used.
The State Department said the U.S. would take a "hard look" at the Russian proposal. Spokeswoman Marie Harf said the U.S. would consider it with "serious skepticism" because it might be a stalling tactic. She said Syria had consistently refused to destroy its chemical weapons in the past.
UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syria to immediately agree to transfer chemical weapons to a safe place within the country for international destruction.
And former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, after a meeting with Obama, said a Syria move to dump chemical weapons would be an important step.
The rapid developments came just hours before Obama was to appear in a rare six network interviews Monday evening to argue for a limited military strike. He also planned to address a skeptical public with a prime-time speech from the White House on Tuesday.
With Congress back from holiday on Monday, its first vote on authorizing strikes on Syria is expected as early as Wednesday.
A resolution in the Senate would authorize the "limited and specified use" of U.S. armed forces against Syria for no more than 90 days. The measure bars American ground troops from combat.
Obama and aides have refused to speculate about what the president would do if Congress votes no.
A new Associated Press poll shows a majority of Americans oppose a U.S. strike on Syria. Most of those surveyed said they believe even limited strikes would lead to a long-term military commitment. The poll was released Monday and conducted Sept. 6-8.
Meanwhile, Assad warned in an interview that the U.S. will have "repercussions" for any strike launched in response to a chemical weapons attack.
Assad, in the interview with American journalist Charlie Rose, warned the U.S. that his turbulent region is an "area where everything is on the brink of explosion. You should expect everything." He added, "You are going to pay the price if you are not wise with dealing with terrorists," he said.
Assad also denied that his troops used chemical weapons, and he said there is no conclusive evidence about who is to blame in the Aug. 21 attack.
The full Assad interview, filmed Sunday in Damascus, was set to air at 0100 GMT on Rose's program on PBS. CBS broadcast excerpts on Monday morning.
Obama is arguing that strikes against Syria are needed for the United States' long-term safety and that hostile nations such as Iran and North Korea need to be reminded of U.S. military might. He had a difficult time last week trying to win support from the international community during his visit to a G-20 summit in Russia.
Despite public backing from leaders of both top political parties to strike Syria, almost half of the 433 current members in the House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate remain undecided, an Associated Press survey found.
