the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
on Monday called for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons in internationally supervised safe zones.
Ban told news hounds he may propose the zones to the U.N. Security Council if U.N. inspectors confirm the use of the banned weapons. He said it would also be a bid to overcome the 15-nation council's "embarrassing paralysis" over the Syria conflict.
"I am considering urging the Security Council to demand the immediate transfer of Syria's chemical weapons and chemical precursor stocks to places inside Syria where they can be safely stored and destroyed," Ban said.
His announcement came after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Syria to place its chemical weapons under international supervision to head off the threat of a western military strike.