Just hours ahead of a major prime-time address set to be delivered by President Barack Obama, momentum is growing in Washington and within the international community to back a plan that would secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles outside the use of military force.
Earlier today, France said it would put forth this proposal in the form of a binding United Nations resolution before the Security Council. Â In response, Russia backed away, saying it would not support that Security Council resolution because it would allow for military enforcement–a move they say they cannot get behind.
Syria says it would accept the Russian proposal.Â
For more on how President Obama may navigate the Syria puzzle, we’re joined now by Nicholas Burns, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs under President George W. Bush. Burns is now professor of the practice of diplomacy and international politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.