Could hold military strike on Syria: US President Barack Obama

In an exclusive interview to BBC, US President Barack Obama said he will put plans for a US military strike on hold if Syria agrees to place its chemical weapons under international control.

In an exclusive interview to BBC, US President Barack Obama said he will put plans for a US military strike on hold if Syria agrees to place its chemical weapons under international control.

On Tuesday, Syria accepted Russia's proposal and agreed to place its chemical weapons for subsequent dismantling.

Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said on Tuesday after meeting with Russian Parliament speaker that his government quickly "agreed to the Russian initiative."

In his interview to BBC, Obama said that "I want to make sure that the norm against [the] use of chemical weapons is maintained. That's in our national security interest. If we can do that without a military strike, that is overwhelmingly my preference."

On Monday Obama had said that the Russian proposal could be "potentially a significant breakthrough," but he remained skeptical that Syria would follow through.