Kerry, Lavrov agree on Syria, chemical weapons stockpile to be destroyed by mid-2014

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday announced they agreed on a roadmap to destroy Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons by mid-2014 in Geneva. Speaking to journalists following their 3-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the two ministers announced they finally agreed on a 6-point framework. Accordingly, Syria must submit details of the transfer of chemical weapons within one week. The initiative further means international inspectors would be sent on the ground by November and the "destruction and/or removal" of Syria's chemical weapons would be completed by mid-2014. Kerry said the Syrian regime would have one week to submit details on providing experts from Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with "immediate and unfettered" access to its chemical weapons program. Kerry also said the UN Security Council would impose measures in case of non-compliance by Assad regime. Lavrov said decisions reached today were only the beginning of the road, and added: "Deal say nothing about using force against the regime.