UPDATE: Syria welcomes proposal to quickly dismantle its chemical weapons

MOSCOW (AP):



After coming under pressure by the United Nations, and hours after being urged by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Syria has agreed to quickly dismantle its chemical weapons.



Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem says his country welcomes Russia's proposal for it to place its chemical weapons under international control and then dismantle them quickly to avert US strikes.



The statement from al-Moallem came a few hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry said Syrian President Bashar Assad could resolve the crisis surrounding the alleged use of chemical weapons by his forces by surrendering control of "every single bit" of his arsenal to the international community by the end of the week.



Hours after Kerry's statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would urge Syria to quickly put its chemical weapons under international control, then dismantle them.



Lavrov, who held talks with al-Moallem in Moscow earlier in the day, said he expected a quick positive answer from Damascus.



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