19.09 Syria�s Assad Pledges to Destroy Chemical Weapons

MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Syrian President Bashar Assad has pledged to destroy his country�s chemical weapons, in an interview with a US TV channel.

Elimination of such weapons would take about a year, Assad told the Fox News channel Wednesday. He once again denied that his regime was to blame for the recent alleged use of chemical weapons near the capital Damascus.

Syria will not set forth any conditions for chemical arms destruction, and is ready for a return of UN chemical weapons inspectors, Assad said.

On Saturday, after days of intense negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced an ambitious plan under which all chemical weapons in Syria would be opened up to international inspectors by November and destroyed by mid-2014.

UN inspectors said Monday that they had found �clear and convincing evidence� that chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, were used in an August 21 attack that killed hundreds of people in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.