Syria crisis: Russia's Putin issues plea to US over Syria
The BBC's Jeremy Bowen reports from the town of Maaloula
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a direct personal appeal to the American people over the Syrian crisis.
He wrote in the New York Times that a US military strike against Syria could unleash a new wave of terrorism.
The US had threatened strikes, accusing the Syrian regime of killing hundreds in a poison-gas attack on 21 August.
Instead, Russia, an ally of Damascus, proposed that Syria
hand over its chemical arsenal. The US and Russia are due to meet later
to discuss that plan.
The Syrian government, which denies that it has used chemical
weapons on its own people, has agreed at least partially to the Russian
proposal.
Analysis
Steve Rosenberg
BBC News, Moscow
The American people are used to being addressed by an American President. Not a Russian one.
But Vladimir Putin knows that the US public and politicians
are deeply uneasy with the prospect of American military intervention in
Syria. His opinion piece in the New York Times may be an attempt to
exploit and maintain that scepticism.
Most of the arguments he makes in the piece he has made
before: for example, that a US strike would spark more violence and
widen the conflict. But the Kremlin may be hoping this direct appeal
to the American people, coupled with Moscow's diplomatic initiative,
will boost the international image of Russia and its president. However,
it may take more than one op-ed piece to do that. After all, in the
West, President Putin is widely seen as an authoritarian leader
intolerant of dissent back home.
The diplomatic moves prompted US President Barack Obama to put military action against Syria on hold.
In his New York Times article, Mr Putin said recent events
had prompted him to "speak directly to the American people and their
political leaders".
He warned that the UN could suffer the same fate as its
predecessor, the League of Nations, if "influential countries... take
military action without Security Council authorisation".
"The potential strike by the United States against Syria,
despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and
religious leaders, including the Pope, will result in more innocent
victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond
Syria's borders," he wrote.
"A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism."
He reiterated Russia's opinion that the gas attack of 21
August was probably carried out by opposition forces "to provoke
intervention by their powerful foreign patrons".
US Secretary of State John Kerry is preparing to meet Russian
counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva later to discuss Moscow's proposal.
BBC News asked people in the Middle East to share their views on a possible military strike against Syria
Mr Lavrov told a news conference in Kazakhstan that both sides
were bringing teams of specialists and experts to the meeting to thrash
out the technical details of the plan.
Chemical weapons plan timeline
5-6 Sep: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama discuss idea of placing Syria's chemical weapons under international control on sidelines of G20 summit
9 Sep: Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says he has urged Syria to hand in chemical weapons and have them destroyed; Syria welcomes plan
10 Sep: Syria's foreign minister makes first public admission of the regime's chemical weapons stockpile; commits Syria committed to Russian plan. Barack Obama postpones Congress vote on military action and says he will give Russian plan a chance
12 Sep: John Kerry due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva
He outlined three main phases of the proposal:
Syria joins the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the production and use of the weapons
Syria reveals where its chemical weapons are stored and gives details of its programme
Experts decide on the specific measures to be taken
Mr Lavrov did not mention the destruction of the
weapons, which is thought to be a sticking point in Moscow's
negotiations with Damascus.
Gen Salim Idriss of the rebel Free Syrian Army has dismissed the Russian plan, saying it did not go far enough.
"[We] request not only that the chemical arsenal is put under
international control, but [also] to judge the author of the crime
before the International Criminal Court," he said.
On Wednesday, envoys of the five permanent UN Security Council members met in New York to discuss the plan.
One diplomat told the BBC that the UN envoys' talks were
largely symbolic and that the serious questions would be left for
Geneva.
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