Russia is ready to provide the manpower needed to guard Syria's chemical weapons sites when President Bashar Assad's chemical arsenal is destroyed, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Thursday by news agencies.
"We will be ready to help in guarding those facilities where work is being carried out," Interfax news agency reported Ryabkov as saying at an arms fair, according to Reuters.
Ryabkov's comments as the United Nations Security Council was working to settle on a resolution regarding a chemical arms deal that will be accepted by both Russia and the West, Reuters reported.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to a deal under which Assad would account for his weapons stockpiles within a week and allow their destruction by mid-2014.
A major point of contention between Russia and Western countries has been whether or not the resolution will be written under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which will cover the Security Council's authority to enforce any decision taken with sanctions or military force, according to Reuters.
