UN Security Council figures out a way forward on Syria resolution
A U.N. chemical weapons expert gathers evidence at one of the sites of an alleged poison gas attack in the southwestern Damascus suburb of Mouadamiya on Aug. 26, 2013. (Photo by Ahmad Alshami/Reuters.)
The five permanent members of the UN security council reached an agreement on Thursday over the wording of a "binding and enforceable" resolution to eliminate Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons.
British and US officials announced the breakthrough after a fast-moving day of diplomacy on the margins of the United Nations general assembly in New York.
But the agreement does not authorise the use of force if Syria does not comply – the sticking point that had prevented diplomatic progress on the conflict that has lasted more than two years and killed more than 100,000 people.
More on this story from The Guardian.
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