Al Arabiya

Russia and the United States have reached a decision on how to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapon arsenal, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, reported Reuters.

“We have a common understanding of what needs to be done and how. I am very glad that President Obama is occupying this position [on chemical arms],” Putin told reporters at the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

International experts involved with verifying and eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons arrived in Syria earlier this month.

Russia who is a long-time ally of Syria, has offered to assist with the process.

In speculation about ridding Syria of its chemical weapons stash, Putin told Reuters that he believed the experts would be able to accomplish their goal within a year.

The OPCW and the U.N. have had to quickly gather a team of chemical weapons experts after a Security Council resolution endorsed a Russian-U.S. disarmament plan on September 27. The plan aims to destroy Syria’s huge chemical weapons arsenal estimated at 1,000 tons, by mid-2014.

The plan was launched after a chemical weapons attack near Damascus on August 21, in which hundreds - Washington claims around 1,400 - people died.

(With Reuters)