Lavrov: US-Russia Syria's deal doesn't include Chapter VII reference

The US-Russian agreement to destroy Syria's chemical weapons does not include a reference to Chapter VII of the UN Charter, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said. "We agreed with the American side to immediately head to the Security Council in case any party fails to abide by its obligations regarding the chemical weapons in Syria, or take measures that will threaten safety of international experts working there, or any party use these weapons," Lavrov told a news conference after his talks with Egyptian foreign minister Nabil Fahmy Monday. Lavrov and US secretary of state John Kerry struck an agreement in Geneva last week that would pave way for the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria. France, Britain and the US are working on a draft UN resolution on Syria. Lavrov denied that the US-Russian agreement would trigger a UN resolution over Syria before end of this week. "Repeating these claims shows unawareness of the Russian-American agreement and shows that some parties do not want to read the agreement." He said the Syrian opposition must participate in the Geneva II conference. "It is time not to only persuade the opposition to participate but to force them to do so." On Iran's nuclear file, Lavrov said Iran was ready to negotiate with the P5 1 group to reduce the uranium enrichment to 20 percent. He said the P5 1 group should deal positively with the Iranian new approach.