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| Syria crisis: Obama speaks to nation on chemical weapons | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has held a televised address to the nation to explain US policy on Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons. | |
| He said the Syrian government was clearly responsible for the use of chemical weapons that killed more than 1,000 people last month. | |
| He said the US would work with Russia on its proposal to persuade Syria to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. | |
| But he said the US would maintain the threat of force should diplomacy fail. | |
| Speaking from the White House, President Obama said he had long resisted calls for military action in Syria because he did not believe that force could solve the civil war. | |
| But he said he changed his mind after the alleged chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on 21 August. | |
| He said he welcomed Russia's proposal as an alternative to military action, but added: "It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed. | |
| "Any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force." | |
| Mr Obama's address came after a day of diplomatic wrangling at the UN over the Russian plan for Syria's chemical weapons to be put under international control. | |
| The UK, US and France want a timetable and the consequences of failure spelt out, and Washington has warned it will "not fall for stalling tactics". | |
| Russia said any draft putting the blame on the Syrian government was unacceptable and urged a declaration backing its initiative. |