Obama concedes to Russia; will remove military trigger on Syria

President Obama is prepared to bow to Russian demands that he give up a military trigger in the pending UN resolution on Syria, administration officials told reporters on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the United States must take the threat of force off the table if Syria is to turn over its chemical weapons arsenal to the international community. Russia is expected to veto any resolution that would include an automatic military trigger if Syria’s Bashar Assad fails to comply.

{mosads}The Obama administration, worried that Assad is stalling for time, says it will not accept a UN resolution that does not include “consequences” if he doesn’t deliver.

“We are not going to pre-judge the outcome of negotiations that are just beginning in New York,” National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan told The Hill. “The United States has been clear that for any effort to be credible it must be verifiable and include consequences for noncompliance.”

U.S. and Russian diplomats are scheduled to pursue talks in Geneva on Saturday.

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