Zee Media Bureau
Moscow: Syria has "welcomed" Russia`s proposal for President Bashar al-Assad`s regime to put chemical weapons under international control, CNN reported on Monday.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had told reporters that Russia will urge Syria to put its chemical weapons supply under international control if it doing so would avert U.S. military action.
Lavrov had called for international talks in Moscow to avert a military strike and end Syria`s two-year-old conflict.
Speaking in Moscow alongside his Syrian counterpart, Lavrov blamed US-backed rebels in Syria for preventing a peace conference in Geneva.
Reports also said that Russia had pressed upon the UN atomic agency to report on the nuclear risk of air strikes on Syria in efforts to stave off possible US attack.
Two diplomats said Russian envoy Grigory Berdennikov urged action on an earlier request in comments today to the International Atomic Energy Agency`s 35-nation board.
A confidential letter from the Russian foreign ministry to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano obtained by The Associated Press today warns of the "catastrophic" consequences of a strike on a research reactor near Damascus.
The diplomats, who were inside the closed meeting, demanded anonymity because they were not authorised to report on the discussion.
The IAEA has said it is assessing Russia`s request.
With agency inputs
