US skeptical over Russia's plan to make Syria hand over chemical weapons

Washington: The United States said it would take a "hard look" at a Russian plan for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons, but expressed skepticism about the credibility of the initiative.

"We'll look at this new development, we'll take a hard look at it," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.

But she cautioned, "Clearly, we don't want this, as I said, to be another stalling tactic. The Russians for months and years have stood up for the Syrian regime at the UN and in the international community."

Moscow earlier seized the diplomatic initiative by announcing a plan for Syria to put its chemical weapons under international control, which it said could forestall US air strikes.

Ben Rhodes, a US deputy national security advisor, told MSNBC that Washington would not ease pressure on Damascus despite the Russian proposal.

"I think we will just have to follow up with them and with other countries going forward to assess the seriousness of this proposal," Rhodes said.

"At the same time, it is going to be very important that we don't take the pressure off."