Syrian Chemical Weapons Plan

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In The Media

Syrian Chemical Weapons Plan

A Russia-brokered deal, which seeks to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, provides the Obama administration with breathing room but fails to solve the fundamental issues driving the Syrian conflict.

By Thomas Carothers

Published on Sep 12, 2013

Source: CBC

Speaking to CBC News, Ahmed Rashid and Carnegie's Thomas Carothers discussed the prospect of a deal to secure and remove Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles. Carothers argued that the deal, brokered by Russia, provided the Obama administration with some breathing room but fails to solve the fundamental issues driving the conflict in Syria. Turning to Russian intentions in negotiating the deal, Carothers and Rashid contended that Russia hopes to solidify the Syrian position. Carothers suggested that the best-case outcome is that with international officials on the ground, the Syrian government will be more wary of perpetrating atrocities, and some potential exists to move toward a ceasefire. The interviewees also discussed Vladimir Putin's New York Times op-ed, which Rashid believed will be favorably interpreted in Russia, and which Carothers viewed, despite some spurious statements, as a potentially successful appeal to Americans for international stability and order.

This interview was originally broadcast on CBC.

About the Author

Thomas Carothers

Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Thomas Carothers, a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, is a leading expert on comparative democratization and international support for democracy.

Recent Work

Article
How Is Hungary’s New Government Doing?
- Thomas Carothers
Paper
America Walks Away from Global Democracy
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Security Foreign Policy Middle East Syria Russia Levant

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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