Top of the Morning: US and Russia Reach Accord on Syria. Now What?

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US and Russia Reach Accord on Syria. Now What?

Now comes the very hard part: implementation. The Security Council will offer its support for the deal, and the Secretary General is tasked with coming up with plans to send weapons inspectors back to Syria, this time to contain and destroy the stockpiles. “A U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN that the technical timeline agreed to in Geneva would not be revisited this week in New York. The thornier question of whether a resolution should be under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter — which potentially authorizes the use of force if Syria is in violation — remains to be worked out. ‘You cannot just copy and paste what’s in Geneva into the resolution,’ the diplomat said.” (CNNhttp://bit.ly/1egn9H3)

Peacekeeping Reinforcements Being Sent to CAR

Things have taken a turn for the worse in Central African Republic this month, and Congo-Brazzaville is sending in more troops as part of an AU peacekeeping contingent. “The Republic of Congo has sent 200 more soldiers to join a peacekeeping force in Central African Republic, which saw an upsurge in violence that killed dozens earlier this month. Gen. Blanchard Okoye, the armed forces chief of staff, urged the soldiers to be disciplined during a ceremony Sunday marking their departure. The troops will join 150 other Republic of Congo soldiers who were deployed in July under the banner of a regional force that is now being transformed into a 3,600-member international peacekeeping mission.” (ABChttp://abcn.ws/1eglTE2)