Obama Congratulates Kerry on Deal with Russia
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama called Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday and congratulated him on reaching an agreement with Russia on a deal to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons.
The agreement gives Syria a year to remove chemical weapons before facing United Nations sanctions.
In a statement addressing the United States’ new deal with Russia, Obama said, “This framework provides the opportunity for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons in a transparent, expeditious, and verifiable manner, which could end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but to the region and the world.”
Obama added that, “if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act.”
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