various other parties take this up that mr lavrov is is going to you know pay a lot of attention to the details and i think his goal is going to be to use the negotiation of this agreement basically to get the united states to make as much of a commitment as as he can extract. act that if this deal is implemented if syria really does put its chemical weapons stocks under international supervision that the united states is not going to strike and if indeed united states won't agree to that then it makes it very clear that the real agenda driving obama's policy in syria all along is not really chemical weapons and just not even really humanitarian considerations it's other considerations and so the administration will either be put in a position where it signs up to that and says basically ok if we can address this chemical weapons issue the united states is not going to be using military force essentially to take sides in the syrian civil war and if he doesn't do it then the united states can't take yes for an answer america so i think it's very interesting is it to the united states sai

where mr lavrov were about so that may say again that we had that we we've had perfect relations yes so we are we differ a little bit about the method we should use in syria but i agree with him that our ultimate a our ultimate goal is this saying we agree that we should achieve this goal all this remains is to discuss. the matters to achieve the best possible solution. question one. to ask one french television show who was that meeting with hello. this is the valley of all the many of. you have with us with their french minister your colleague they report was presented yesterday to the yeah and according to that report. you were. supposed to point the a one responsible for a chemical attack and during our report we could come to a quick conclusion that it proves very seriously the fact that the syrian army was responsible and guilty of using the chemical weapon and with and it proved that the syrian army was responsible for launching those missiles is that a trustworthy report can we trust well the u.n. inspectors did not have a mandate to determine the guilt scene. was not an op t

mr. lavrov with the u.n. arab league envoy at the u.n. -- remember, these chemical weapons talks are taking place outside of the u.n. they went over to the u.n. and friday and they came out, the three of them, that they were going to re-energize efforts to bring big political peace talks to geneva talks that began last june in this city and continue next june. it appears until the beginning of this week and the extraordinary events of this week to have gone away altogether. they say they'll bring that back or attempt to, mr. kerry and mr. lavrov to meet later in september in new york perhaps to set a date for a geneva 2 peace conference. it all rides on success here on the chemical weapons front and on a buildup of trust and compromise to give impetus to a wider peace process. on that, we await details. the press conference perhaps coming up in a short while. >> thank you very much, jonah. that's jonah hall in geneva. we're waiting for this news conference from the u.s. secretaries of state and the russian fo

various other parties take this up that mr lavrov is is going to you know pay a lot of attention to the details and i think his goal is going to be to use the negotiation of this agreement basically to get the united states to make as much of a commitment as as he can express. act that if this deal is implemented if syria really does put its chemical weapons stocks under international supervision that the united states is not going to strike and if indeed united states won't agree to that then it makes it very clear that the real agenda driving obama's policy in syria all along is not really chemical weapons and just not even really humanitarian considerations it's other considerations and so the administration will either be put in a position where it signs up to that and says basically ok if we can address this chemical weapons issue the united states is not going to be using military force essentially to take sides in the syrian civil war and if he doesn't do it then you know the united states can't take yes for an answer i mean it's i think it's very interesting is it to the united

well i think that mr lavrov calling kerry on his proposal really shows what and then having the state department back track really shows true intention of the state department and indeed the obama administration if they were not serious and if they claim it was rhetorical then i think it really shows that. a a u.s. bombing and intervention is greater than just the chemical weapons issue it clearly shows that it's aimed more at iran. playing to the tune of the saudis at this point but i think i think that mr lavrov should pursue this and and certainly the damascus government should. agree to it and and and try to bring in and try to bring this to this war tempo to it to a halt because there is no there is no support for it in the united states and i think that and certainly syria is one of seven countries in the world that is not a signatory to. the chemical weapons convention and i think if they agreed to this i think it would be a very. strong statement by the government that they intend to curb it everybody knows they have chemical weapons by the by the mere fact that mr lavrov has

bisect mr lavrov for. by the us and to moscow at this moment. in. new. specially that the war drums are out. of the way you said but by the machines. this is we're asking ourselves. are demotivation that americans you. speak about to launch a strike against us about the chemical weapons is a true couples. just that it is easier for us as it is on the beach and it will go huge. as our true. and we're saying the. diplomatic efforts it's not over to reach the end of the syrian trouble. in. over me but i think she's here. with me to give us you know who. we are for protecting our people and our children and our country and. we're confident in russian efforts. would cooperate with russia totally about all this. to stop this strike against us you see he sees the world in his he's in. his yeah but it's all just the citizens in the us and. some of the c.b.c. . oh ok. but if they aim striking. you on syria and that's what we believe in if they aim. to destroy our army syrian army. and give the qaeda and terrorists a percentage to win. like brigades of. and this t

mr. lavrov himself has come inside. i think that press conference will come. what we have heard in terms of progress from u.s. administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity indicating that progress has been made on one particular and very important issue, the question of the threat of force, which the united states has been adamant was needed to backup any agreement made with syria about its chemical weapons, to backup in the case of noncompliance, which russia and syria have said were not acceptable. the threat of force had to be put one side. what we're being told is that the united states may, in fact, be prepared to come up with some other enforcement mechanism within the context of a security council resolution, perhaps sanctions on the syrian government in damascus if they fail to comply or some other measure, but to take the threat of force away. if we hear that in the press conference, that will have been, i think, the most significant obstacle to a deal. >> so, jonah, that has, then, been the biggest stumbling block between the two sides

to the negotiating table in order to proceed in order to proceed with the geneva two peace talks mr lavrov said that the assad government has already agreed to diplomatic efforts without any preconditions but the opposition in syria has not done the same russia believes that western countries should be putting more effort in convincing the rebels in syria to commit to the geneva two peace talks because thus far as long as the threat of military strikes has hung over the issue of the syrian conflict foreign minister lavrov believes that that has kept the opposition from coming to the table to take part in diplomatic negotiations while most of the world supported the syrian chemical disarmament deal with which russia and the u.s. shook hands on in geneva last week but investigative journalist pepe escobar says washington is trying to take credit for itself and downplay moscow's true sure role in the diplomatic breakthrough. there were already strictures trying to steal all the credit for everything that's going out from the russians who will in fact do bomb a present seat was see why display

are now controlled by the syrian rebels that is also something to keep in mind only whole however mr lavrov has said that it does not seem like the western powers are interested in pursuing the diplomatic solution offer that. right now western partners are trying to forcefully push forward with the syrian resolution their own image because they understand that if chapter seven is mentioned there is a chance for them to get approval with the u.n. security council unilateral action we encourage them to keep calm and stop coming up with those allusions but the convention for the prohibition of chemical weapons on the back burner and that prioritize us goals. well from the get go it was obvious that neither the u.s. nor friends needed a conclusive report by the u.n. observers and are they are essentially continue with the they are blame game as my colleague in the sonali reports. as chaos and violence in syria still does the diplomatic battle surrounding the conflict this week a un investigation concluded chemical weapons were used on august the twenty first the environmental chemical and medic

mr. lavrov and mr. brahimi and when mr. lavrov and mr. kerry returned to the intercontinental hotel behind us where the talks are taking place, both of the secretaries took part in technical talks with their top experts from the u.s. and russia. and the u.s. team is very high level. just shows the importance. white house. their representatives here from the joint chiefs of staff, from the department of defense, and the top arms control officials from the state department, so this is very high stakes for the u.s. administration. and the russians are feeling the heat now. because the americans are making it very clear that they need a breakthrough on the chemical weapons before there's any solid progress in the peace talks, which we won't know what will happen until sometime in october. >> so what does come next? what is the plan? >> well, the talks are continuing at very technical levels this afternoon. and there's a possibility they will continue tomorrow. the -- they need to get a broad parameter of what they can get to see as solid deli

mr. lavrov is very, very skilled.bright, eloquent, articulate, and clever, and a sense of lawyer like. he's very determined in the use of words and very hard -- very tough negotiator. this is not going to be easy. he's going to be tough to deal with. >> he spoke in russian, but he's fluent in english. i assume when he's speaking to john kerry, he spoke in english. you spoke to him in english. >> when you're in a private ceremony, you can drop the formality of an interpreter. >> in terms of a timeline, some people have been saying a couple weeks. how will you know something is actually working in these meetings? do you know it immediately? do you -- >> no, not immediately. this is going to take several weeks, i think. two weeks at least initially because you're going to go through the wordsmithing, plus you have the u.n. -- >> hold on, jay carney, press secretary. let's see if he opens up with q & a or house keeping. >> as some of you saw secretary kerry and his counterpart spoke in geneva. i wanted to allow you the op

mr. lavrov has said it does not seem like the western powers are interested in a diplomatic solution of the matter. >> right now our western partners are trying to for thefully push through this syrian solution. they are on edge because they know if chapter is mentioned there is a chance for them to get approval from the u.n.. we urge them to keep calm. >> according to the russian foreign minister, they didn't really need the report from the u.n. inspection team, that their minds were made up long before that and they only used that report for an attempt to insist it was only the syrian government using chemical weapons even though there is absolutely no such item in the report. >> as conflicts continue in syria, so does the diplomatic battle around the conflict. >> the environmental, chemical, and medical samples the investigators collected provide clear, compelling evidence that the surface to surface rockets used in this attack contained the nerve agent sarin. we know the assad regime has them and there is not a shred does. please, this isn't complicated. when we said we know what is tru

mr. lavrov is going to say that precondition has got to go. so it looks as if we are going to yield on that particular point if there is a hope for getting a u.n. security council resolution. the french and british and u.s. have insisted upon having some kind of a trigger namely if they don't comply with the dismantling of their weapons we can make military action. but i think that's unlikely. i'm hopeful that something goodwill come out of this, but frankly unless you have an overall peace settlement, the notion you're going to have a dismantling of chemical weapons during a civil war i think is unrealistic. so it looks as if this is a long struggle to gain control of them, identify them while they're moving them around, et cetera. i don't know that the united states has a very strong hand at this point. i hope that secretary kerry can play it for what it is. >> so you don't believe that it's really possible for syria to give up their chemical weapons for international inspectors to be on the ground to secure sites and ultimately destroy thes

mr. lavrov. he said, "nothing is said about the use of force or sanctions." so they go to the united nations. it's clear they would veto again. it is now in the hands of russia to decide whether bashar al assad is really complying or not. >> can i ask you then how might we be in the united states in a different position if the goal -- if the goal was to prevent him from ever using chemical weapons again? i realize your goal is different. work with me. don't use chemical weapons again. how might the situation have been different had the president stayed on course and been bombing by now? >> of course, the president probably wouldn't have been bombing, and if it had been an unbelievably small attack, i'm not sure -- >> secretary kerry said -- >> how much difference it would make. it's not scary and unbelievably small attack. the point is if the agreement had said that there will be the use of force automatically or the russians had agreed that they could go under chapter 7 to the united nations security council, that puts an entirely different cast on it. right

mr. lavrov said there is nothing in this agreement about the use of force. i.e., they will not agree to the use of force no matter what bashar al assad does. >> two points that i want to try to pin you down on. >> sure. >> which is, if the russians stand in the way, if they're gaming the president and the us right now and this is -- >> they're in charge. >> they're in charge so if they stand in the way of any potential force what would you do as president in the interim in case they do that and if that eventuality happen. >> well, first of all, i would step up our support for the free syrian army. the president two years ago said bashar al assad has to go. where is that statement? and i would do -- give them the support that they need to change the momentum on the battlefield to lead to the negotiated departure of bashar al assad. that has always been the goal. at least certainly stated by the president of the united states. now there is no comment about that. now he is able to have killed 1400 people and he has killed over 100,000. where is the u.s.' respon

mr. lavrov, the u.s. russia will be able to come to some agreement that will actually manage to separate the syrians from their chemical weapons? >> i think that if congress will be determined not to give authority to president to strike against syria in this case, we can have a success in diplomatic area. otherwise, if i am afraid-- and i dare to say if obama enjoyed the support of congress, he could ignore security council as that happened with reagan, with clinton, with bush jr., and could unilaterally act against assad because he once said he is causincause crossing the red li. fortunately, congress is making more sober policy. >> woodruff: angela stent, it sounds as if he is saying if the threat of military force is taken off the table maybe they can come together. how do you see it? >> i think the prospects -- at the moment, let's be optimistic, but it's a question of timing. how long is it going to take, first of all, for syria to sign this convention, then to allow-- to show where its chemical wea

who have essentially created the syrian are continuing to cover its tracks all not whole however mr lavrov has said that it does not seem like the western powers are interested in pursuing the diplomatic solution off the matter right now. western partners are trying to forcefully push forward it was a syrian resolution. because they understand that if chapter seven is mentioned in the show is a chance for them to get approval of the un security council unilateral action which took courage them to keep calm and stop coming up with this illusion but the convention for the prohibition of chemical weapons on the back burner and that ties us girls according to the russian foreign minister of france and the united states and they didn't really need the report from the u.n. inspection team their minds were set up long before that and they have only used that report as yet another attempt to insist that in fact it was just the syrian government that was using chemical weapons in syria even though there is absolutely no such indication in the u.n. report as my colleague mr now we now reports. chaos

general assembly before the vote for mr lavrov said the world is now multi-polar and there's no place for unilateral action against other states without collective approval is a contrast with the president obama's theory of u.s. exceptionalism which he defended the very same stage just a few days before to a political analyst eric draitser told me it's a month trip resulting from america's declining image essentially what we should understand is that the language that obama is using is not only just to make the case that somehow the united states is above other countries that the united states is above international law that the united states is above the very institutions that the united nations represents that it is. since world war two in other words it is the might make makes right principle and you know you don't want to reduce it down to such a simplistic concept but unfortunately that is the reality of international relations when it comes to the united states and of course their anger with the russians their anger with putin is his and russia's inability to accept this princip

opposition in syria were in fact contributing to its growth in the first place all no whole however mr lavrov has said that it does not seem like the western powers are interested in pursuing the diplomatic solution off the matter. this is a political and right now with some partners are trying to forcefully push forward with this syrian resolution their own edge because they understand that if chapter seven is mentioned there's a chance for them to get approval with the u.n. security council unilateral action we encourage them to keep calm and stop coming up with those allusions but put the convention for the prohibition of chemical weapons on the back burner and that prioritize u.s. goals the u.s. and france made no secret that they were not interested in the findings off the u.n. inspectors the report which they have come out with did not specify who has carried out the chemical attacks so the united states as well as their western partners are continuing the blame game as my colleague and he said now it now reports. as chaos and violence continue in syria so does the diplomatic battle sur

basically what he said today in large way reiterate what his boss the foreign minister of russia mr lavrov said earlier let's listen to what he said. and you we have a lot of information about the august chemical attack in good or we'll examine all of this of the security council along with the u.n. chemical weapons report we still have to figure out who's behind the attack but let me just reiterate that we have a great deal of information to work with we're going to switzerland and other very important point made by of course is that russia will still continue to insist on holding the geneva two conference which is the only peaceful solution to the syrian conflict as moscow sees it and hopes to have this conference in the nearest future with its no set date for the conferences as to s. so far ok thank you alexia sassy's alexy you have a share of skin let's get more reaction to this we can now speak to journalist and author robert harness. i think you can hear me thank you very much. if you were able to listen to that press conference today it's very clear that russia wants the u.n. securi

have essentially created the syrian army are continuing to cover its tracks all no hole however mr lavrov has said that it does not seem like the western powers are interested in pursuing the diplomatic solution off the matter right now. western partners are trying to forcefully push forward it to syrian resolution. because they understand that if chapter seven is mentioned your condition is a chance for them to get approval of the un security council unilateral action which took courage them to keep calm and stop coming up with those allusions but the convention for the prohibition of chemical weapons on the back burner and that ties us girls according to the russian foreign minister of france and the united states and they didn't really need the report from the u.n. inspection team their minds were set up long before that and they have only used that report as yet another attempt to insist that in fact it was just the syrian government that was using chemical weapons in syria even though there is absolutely no such indication in the u.n. reports as my colleague now reports. as chaos and

should be forced to come to the negotiating table in order to proceed with the geneva two peace talks mr lavrov said that the assad. overman has already agreed to diplomatic efforts without any preconditions but the same has not been heard or seen from the syrian opposition now russia the united states all the big powers involved have all said is that the syrian crisis cannot be resolved militarily it could only be resolved diplomatically and that's why russia is coming forward and say that the west should be putting more effort in convincing the syrian rebels to commit to the geneva two peace talks because thus far if the threat of military strike coming from western powers is still hanging over the head of the syrian government russia believes that this keeps the opposition from coming to the negotiating table so russia here is pushing for the u.s. and its european allies to work with the syrian opposition convincing them to now take part in a diplomatic dialogue that could end the syrian crisis so again we have somewhat of a stalemate and we'll see what will continue in the days ahead becaus

should be forced to come to the negotiating table in order to proceed with the geneva two peace talks mr lavrov said that the assad government has already agreed to diplomatic efforts without any preconditions but the syrian opposition has not done the same russia believes u.s. and its european partners should be putting more effort in convincing the syrian rebels to commit to the geneva two peace talks because thus far there's threat of military strike against the syrian government russia believes has kept the opposition from coming to the table to negotiate at the end of the day the united states the european countries and russia have all said that the syrian crisis cannot be solved with military might it can only be solved through diplomatic efforts so russia is now saying since we have this brokered deal since we have a path to the geneva two peace talks the western countries should be encouraging the opposition to now i take a diplomatic approach put down any any weapons and stop fighting and come to come to the table where there could be a discussion of ending the syrian crisis but if the

negotiate peacefully now mr lavrov also commented on the latest demands which were announced earlier on monday by france britain and the us for the un security council to pass a fresh resolute resolution on syria before the end of the week and putting to russia's chief diplomats these demands distort the reality and actually go against previous agreements reached between moscow and washington the roadmap which was proposed to damascus it agreed to and that includes providing the complete information about the syrian stockpiles of chemical weapons and their disarmament by the middle of next year according to the foreign minister there's no need for the u.n. to apply pressure on this process now syria has signed up to the international convention on chemical weapons which basically bans their use it's up to those organizations now to monitor the course of the disarmament and if any problems emerge then it's going to be time for the u.n. security council to step in and of course the u.n. is expected to reveal its findings about chemical weapons use in series and what we expect from that

general assembly before the vote for mr lavrov said the world is now multi-polar and there is no place for unilateral action against other states without collective approval it's in contrast to president obama's theory of american exceptionalism which he to found it on the same stage a few days before or just kevin owen discussed that with political with geopolitical analyst eric draitser let's first of all listen to what a bomb had to say at the u.n. general assembly if we would before i believe america must engage for our own security but i also believe the world is better for some may disagree but i believe america is exceptional. in part because we have shown a willingness through the sacrifice of blood and treasure to stand up not only for our own narrow self-interest but for the interests of all well obama says the u.s. has quote a responsibility to act but of course it begs the question does not guarantee it's always going to responsibly think that we should be very cautious about this so called american exceptionalism what obama is asserting is a long standing principle not onl

to come to the negotiating table in order for in order to proceed with the geneva two peace talks mr lavrov said that the assad government has already agreed to diplomatic efforts without any preconditions but the opposition in syria has not done the same russia believes that western countries should be putting more effort in convincing the rebels in syria to commit to the geneva two peace talks because thus far as long as the threat of military strikes has hung over the issue of the syrian conflict foreign minister lavrov believes that that has kept the opposition from coming to the table to take part in diplomatic negotiations so with the u.s. russia the u.k. france all the big players involved in ending this conflict all agree that it can only end through diplomatic efforts and russia's position believes it russia's position is is to western countries convince the opposition to finally take part in talks in discussions because the threat of military action can only exacerbate the problem for many more months to come ok marina point from new york thanks very much indeed for that update. m

lavrov and u.s. secretary of state john kerry. mr. president, as -- [inaudible] sent to investigate the allegations confirmed, chemical weapons were used in syria. the perpetrators of this crime must be brought to justice. in this way, the mission under -- [inaudible] returned to syria to complete its investigations including of the incident. i expect the team to complete its fact-finding activities by next week. i will promptly transmit its final report to you and all member states. at the same time, the international community has a responsibility to insure that these weapons of mass destruction never reemerge as an instrument of war or terror. at the depository of the chemical weapons -- [inaudible] its declarations to implement it on a provisional basis. today's vital decision by the executive council of the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons establishes ambitious but realistic deadlines for the verified elimination of the syrian program. given the scope of this task and the continuing conflict in syria, the unit