Russia on Monday proposed a fresh initiative on Syrian crisis, stimulating to secure the chemical stockpiles of the Damascus government under international observation, an apparent attempt to put down the fire before reaching the "powder keg" of the Middle East.
Syrian analysts say the move could be a first step toward a political solution to the country's long-time crisis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that his country will push Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control if such a move would help avert a possible U. S. strike against the Arab country.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem soon welcomes the Russian proposition.
The flurry of diplomatic efforts came as the U.S. Congress will start its meetings on Monday to debate whether to approve the U.S. possible strike against Syria.
Later in the day, U.S. officials welcomed the proposal for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons, while expressing skepticism that this could be a "stalling tactic" to avoid a U.S. military strike against Syria.
A STEP TOWARD POLITICAL SOLUTION
Syrian analysts and observers deemed the fresh initiative as " the first step toward a political solution."
"We hope that this step could be the first step toward a political solution and that the result could be, not only related to the chemical weapons, but also to halt the Western and Arab funding of the armed groups in Syria," Sharif Shihadeh, a Syrian lawmaker, told Xinhua.
"I think that Russia, in an agreement with America, opened a small window for us to move toward the political solution," Shihadeh noted.
He, however, said that the proposal should be integrated in order to reach to a political solution, "otherwise, we could go back to the first step."
A DEAL BETWEEN RUSSIA, SYRIA
For his part, Sami Kulaib, a Lebanese observer, said that Russia's President Vladimir Putin "succeeded to create a miracle and stopped the fire from reaching the powder keg."
In an article posted on his official social networking website, Kulaib said that "both countries (Russia and Syria) have previously agreed on this initiative, adding that it came after long deliberations."
He said that Syria would not have accepted the Russian proposal of it didn't receive a "political and military price" whose details are yet to be revealed.
U.S. MAY PONDER OVER THE CONCESSION
Other experts said that Washington, since the beginning of the chemical weapons' frenzy, was trying to squeeze the administration of President Bashar al-Assad to make such concession, adding that the costs of any strike on Syria would be unimaginably high.
Even though the Obama administration said their potential attack would be in the form of a limited strike, officials in Syria, including the president himself, said the situation may become so explosive that could drag the entire region into the whirlpool of war.
Striping Syria of its chemical arsenal would also strip Washington from all pretexts that could push it to involve into a war where not only Syria is involved, but also the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran, whose leaders hinted repeatedly that they would not stand still if Syria was attacked, experts said.
Washington is believed to think over the proposal thoroughly as it's the only way to save the region from a war, local observers say.
