DHAKA: British foreign secretary William Hague on Saturday welcomed a US-Russian deal to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons and said there would be ‘urgent work’ to implement it.

‘Have spoken to (US) Secretary (of State John) Kerry. UK welcomes US-Russia agreement on #Syria chemical weapons. Urgent work on implementation now to take place,’ Hague said in a message on Twitter, reports The Straits Times.

He made the comments after Kerry agreed the ambitious plan with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva.

Britain has been pushing for a strong international response to an alleged chemical attack in Damascus last month which was blamed on president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

But UK prime minister David Cameron was forced to back down on threats of military action, made alongside the United States, after lawmakers voted against strikes.

BDST: 1949 HRS, SEPT 14, 2013
RoR/RIS