US and Russia work on deal to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons programme; North Korea may have restarted nuclear reactor; Japan raises sales tax to ease country's debt; suicide bomber kills 35 in Iraq; teachers clash with police in Mexico; and more

Top of the Agenda: U.S., Russia Seek Deal on Syrian Weapons

Secretary of State John Kerry and a team of U.S. experts arrived in Geneva for two days of meetings with their Russian counterparts, hoping to reach an agreement outlining plans to dismantle the Syrian government's chemical weapons program. A deal would likely cancel plans for a U.S. strike on Syria (AP). The UN is expected to release its report on the alleged chemical weapons attack within a week. Though it will not assign culpability, diplomats say the evidence will indicate that the Syrian government bears responsibility (Reuters). The CIA has begun shipments of light weapons to vetted rebel groups in Syria and the State Department delivered vehicles and other gear, ending months of delay in aid promised by the Obama administration (WaPo).

Analysis

"No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack—this time against Israel—cannot be ignored," writes Russian president Vladimir Putin in the New York Times.

"By focusing on nuclear disarmament and New START, Obama's reset strategy remilitarized the U.S.-Russia relationship, while marginalizing issues that could have reoriented bilateral ties toward the future. In this sense, the initiative was doomed from the start—and the whole world has suffered as a result," writes Sergei Karaganov for Project Syndicate.

"Doing something in Syria may make sense on the merits, especially if it would help resolve the civil war. But using Iran as a justification would be disingenuous and even dangerous. It would be almost as irresponsible as the trumped-up intelligence that Obama's predecessor used to drum up support for the Iraq war a decade ago," writes Suzanne Maloney in Foreign Affairs.

 

PACIFIC RIM

North Korea May Have Restarted Nuclear Reactor

Satellite images of a newly reconstructed nuclear reactor in North Korea indicate that the country may have resumed production of plutonium for its nuclear weapons program (Yonhap). Analysts say the move may be designed to compel the United States into talks with Pyongyang.

JAPAN: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to increase the national sales tax to alleviate the country's large public debt, but will couple the move with stimulus spending (FT). A formal announcement is expected October 1.

ELSEWHERE:

Suicide bomber kills 35 in Iraq

Teachers clash with police in Mexico

 

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.