Head of the State Duma foreign affairs committee Alexei Pushkov told a meeting of the lower house of parliament on Wednesday that Russia has just presented the evidence it has to the UN Security Council on Syria militants’ possession and use of chemical weapons.

Pushkov said insurgents in Syria particularly used chemical weapons near Aleppo in March and this was acknowledged by Carla Del Ponte, a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Russia plans to propose a draft declaration to the UN Security Council that would welcome the initiative to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control.

Tense negotiations begun on the proposed UN resolution on Wednesday, as a French official said on condition of anonymity.

The plan for Syria to turn over its chemical weapons appeared to ease one diplomatic stalemate only to open up new potential for impasse amid Moscow’s attempts to stop Washington’s war ambitions.

Syria welcomed the proposal amidst growing concerns of a US military strike over a deadly alleged poisonous gas attack on August 21.

The Obama administration is struggling with an increasingly opposing public opinion for launching an attack on Syria.

Six different polls from six outlets came out on Tuesday, showing that the broad opposition to an American attack on Syria is not only intact but actually growing in spite of a solid week of pro-war campaigning by the administration.

SHI/BA