...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...said Tuesday the United States should renounce the option of using force in Syria to allow checks on Damascus' chemical weapons to go ahead.
"It all makes sense and can work if the U.S. side and all those who support it renounce the use of force," he said according to Russian television.
Putin, whose proposal Monday to secure Syria's chemical weapons was welcomed by Western powers, said Syrians viewed the arsenal as an "alternative" to Israel's nuclear arms.
"It is difficult to constrain Syria or another country to disarm unilaterally while military action against that country is being prepared.
"Russia's position on this question is well known: we are against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, chemical or nuclear," he added.
The United States, which accuses the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons on its people, has insisted that military action to punish the regime remains on the table.
But Putin said he hoped that by working with Syria in tandem with the Americans, a peaceful solution could be reached.
Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, there was another kaboom...
a group of U.S. senators were crafting a new measure Tuesday that ties authorization for a military strike on Syria to action by the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
The politicians, including allies and foes of President Barack Obama
I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go...
, were drafting language that would alter a resolution currently under debate which would green-light limited U.S. strikes to punish
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
's regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
The new measure, according to congressional aides familiar with it, would require the immediate initiation of the transfer of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile to international control, as proposed by Russia in an initiative which is being closely studied by the White House.