Syria crisis: Obama could call off any US strikes if Assad hands over chemical weapons

President Barack Obama said he was prepared to call off US strikes on Syria last night if the Assad regime agreed to hand over its chemical weapons arsenal – even as he expressed scepticism that Damascus would take such an offer seriously.

Barack Obama took part in a series of interviews ahead of Congress deciding on whether the US should launch military action in Syria Photo: CNN

By Raf Sanchez and Peter Foster in Washington

Mr Obama said the US would give serious examination to a Russian proposal to put Syria's chemical stockpiles "under international control" a move which – if it happened – he said would represent a "significant breakthrough" that would avert the prospect of American strikes.

The rapid developments in Washington open the door to a diplomatic solution to the international crisis over how best to respond to the August 21 chemical weapons attacks that the US says were carried out by the Assad regime, leaving more than 1,400 dead.

Minutes after Mr Obama spoke the Senate seized on the Russian proposal as an opportunity to delay a planned vote on attacking Syria and avoid the possibility of a humiliating defeat for the White House which struggled to persuade Congress of its case for punitive military action.

Mr Obama's decision to explore the Russian proposal came hours after John Kerry, the US secretary of state, made an off-the-cuff remark at a London press conference, saying hypothetically America would hold off on strikes if Bashar al-Assad surrendered his chemical weapons.

The comment was picked up by Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who urged Syria to agree to the handover and "subsequent destruction" of their arms. Syria responded by "welcoming" – but not explicitly accepting – Russia's idea.