'Syria's chemical weapons are secure'

Russia says it will not host Assad, but other countries' offer welcome

Syria's chemical weapons are still secure despite the fact that President Bashar al-Assad has lost control of parts of the country, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday.

Amos Gilad told Army Radio that the civil war between Assad and opposition forces fighting to topple him had become deadlocked, but the Syrian leader showed no signs of heeding international calls to step down.

"Suppose he (Assad) does leave, there could be chaos ... in the Middle East you never know who will come instead. We need to stay level-headed; the entire world is dealing with this. At the moment, chemical weapons are under control," Gilad said.

As Syria's southern neighbor, Israel has been concerned about chemical weapons falling into the hands of Islamist militants or Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, warning it could intervene to stop such developments.

Western countries said three weeks ago that Assad's government might be preparing to use poison gas to repel rebel fighters who are encamped around Damascus, the capital, and who control rural Aleppo and Idlib in the north.

"The opposition is not managing to defeat him and he is not defeating the opposition, though more and more parts of Syria are no longer under his control and that is what matters," Gilad said.

The rebels - mainly Sunni Muslims - are pushing southward from their northern strongholds into the central province of Hama.

But Assad, who is from the Alawite minority linked to Shiite Islam, has responded with artillery, air strikes and, according to NATO, with Scud-type missiles.

Western powers and some Arab countries have called for Assad to step down, but Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said international efforts to persuade Assad to quit would fail.

Russia would welcome any country's offer of safe haven for Assad, but has no plans to make one of its own, Lavrov said in the latest comments to suggest a growing distance between the two allies.

Lavrov's remarks were among the clearest signs yet that Russia could be preparing for a Syria without Assad, as rebel pressure on the embattled leader intensifies. Over the past four weeks, fighting has reached Damascus, his seat of power, and rebels have captured a string of military bases.

Up to now, Russia has vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Syria's government to stop the violence that has killed more than 40,000 people over the past 21 months. While Russian leaders have given no concrete signs that stance has changed, their tone has shifted as rebels advance on the outskirts of the capital.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin distanced himself further than ever from the Syrian president, saying Russia does not seek to protect him and suggesting his government is growing weaker.

Speaking to reporters late on Friday, Lavrov reiterated Moscow's position that "it doesn't invite President Assad here", although he said other countries had asked Russia to convey their offer of safe passage to Assad.

"If there is anyone willing to provide him guarantees, they are welcome!" Lavrov said on board a plane returning from Brussels, where he attended a Russia-EU summit.

Lavrov said the Syrian government has pulled its chemical weapons together to one or two locations from several arsenals across the country to keep them safe amid the rebel onslaught.

"The Syrian government has concentrated the stockpiles in one or two centers, unlike in the past when they were scattered across the country," he said.

UN envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi arrived at the Syrian borders on Sunday, coming from Lebanon for a brief visit to meet with Syrian officials, mainly President Bashar al-Assad, a Lebanese border official said.

AP-Reuters