Britain welcomes Syria agreement, 'urgent work' to implement it

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. -- SCREEN GRAB: TWITTER OF WILLIAM HAGUE
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. -- SCREEN GRAB: TWITTER OF WILLIAM HAGUE

LONDON (AFP) - 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.

He made the comments after Mr 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 Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to back down on threats of military action, made alongside the United States, after lawmakers voted against strikes.

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