The U.S. and Russia have agreed on the outline for Syria to destroy its chemical weapon stockpile by the end of the first half of next year.
Syria also must submit an account of their chemical weapon arsenal in a week, The Washington Post reports. The agreement was set in place through a U.N. Security Council resolution. Syria could face sanction or other punishments should it fail to follow on its end for the dismantling of its chemical weapons.
Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the first international inspection of Syria's chemical weapons will happen in November.
Kerry said, "Providing this effort is fully implemented it can end the threat that these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but to their neighbors, to the region," and more.
"Actions will matter more than words," Kerry stated according to Los Angeles Times. "In the case of the Assad regime, President Reagan's old adage about 'trust but verify' ... is in need of an update. And we have committed here to a standard here that says 'verify and verify.'"
Kerry said that if Syria fails to comply with the agreement, the U.S. could still push for the use military force, though Russia still is opposed to any military strikes.