Russia is "not necessarily enthusiastic" about a U.N. Security Council resolution that would put Syria's chemical weapons in international control and then destroy them, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tuesday.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin told RT on Tuesday that the plan would only work if the U.S. renounced its intentions to strike Syria, two signs that the proposed diplomatic "solution" to the situation in Syria is already facing major hurdles.
"As I understood, the Russians at this stage were not necessarily enthusiastic, and I'm using euphemism, to put all that into the framework of a U.N. binding resolution," Fabius told French lawmakers after a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to Reuters.
Fabius said that France would float a possible U.N. resolution that would force Syria to publicly admit its chemical-weapons stockpile, while setting a timeframe for turning over those weapons to international control. Russia could introduce its own proposal, which would likely be far from the liking of the U.S. and its allies.
The White House said Tuesday afternoon that President Barack Obama spoke with French President Hollande and British Prime Minister Cameron. Discussions on the Russia-led plan would begin at the U.N. on Tuesday, the White House said, and will include a discussion of a U.N. resolution. And Cameron said that the three countries would introduce a resolution on Tuesday.
"The leaders discussed their preference for a diplomatic resolution but stressed the importance of continuing to develop a full range of responses by the international community to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons near Damascus on August 21," the White House said in its readout of Obama's calls.
Separately in the U.S., a group of eight bipartisan senators is working on a proposal to grant Obama authorization to use military force if the Russia-led plan falls through.