Ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock, the United States and Russia plus the other three most-powerful members of the United Nations Security Council agreed to a resolution that requires the Syrian government to surrender its chemical weapons.

The compromise draft resolution reportedly makes the measure legally binding.  But in a concession to Russia, the draft resolution contains no threat of enforcement, saying only that the Security Council would impose punitive measures – which would require another resolution that could be vetoed by Russia or China.  For the time being, this averts American military strikes on Syria in the midst of Syria's civil war.

The US and Russia had been huddling on the sidelines of the current UN General Assembly, with the aim of crafting a measure to demand the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal in line with a US-Russian deal reached earlier this month. 

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that his chemical weapons stockpile has lost effectiveness as a strategic weapon, and he is glad to get rid of that "burden."