DAMASCUS, (PNA/Xinhua) — Tens of Syrians staged a sit-in Tuesday before the Syrian Cabinet building in the capital Damascus to express their support to the recent Russian initiative regarding stripping Syria of its chemical arsenal.
“As Syrian people, we welcome the international decision to place the chemical weapon under (international) observation, because since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, we have been against the use of chemical weapons,” Majdoline, a Syrian woman, told Xinhua during the sit-in.
Last week, Russia proposed an initiative to strip Syria of its chemical weapons, in the hope of stripping Washington of its pretext to unleash a military strike against Syria over allegations that the government troops gassed civilians in the countryside of Damascus on Aug. 21.
The administration of President Bashar al-Assad denied the accusation, turning the finger against the rebels, saying they staged a false flag operation to frame the government.
Yet, the last-minute proposition by Russia was hailed by Damascus, which said it would surrender its chemical stock not because of fears of a possible U.S. strike, but of its confidence in “Russia’s wisdom.”
Samir Batrony, a Syrian lawyer, who was also at sit-in, said ” the aggression is demolishing, the conspiracy is falling apart, and Syria will not succumb.”
Other participants hoisted the Syrian flag along with posters of President Assad and the late Egyptian leader, Jamal Abdul- Nasser, the symbol of pan-Arabism in the Arab world.
The sit-in came a day after the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon briefed the Security Council in a closed-door meeting about the report from a fact-finding group looking into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria on Aug. 21.
The report confirmed that chemical weapons were used in Ghouta, Syria, without assigning blame on a certain party.