U.S.-Russia deal has ‘full ability’ to strip Syria of chemical weapons

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured Israel publicly on Sunday the deal he reached with Russia's foreign minister on Syria's chemical weapons was capable of removing its deadly arsenal. Speaking to reporters after briefing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the framework accord reached in Geneva on Saturday, Kerry said it "has the full ability ... to strip all of the chemical weapons from Syria". Kerry said Russia had stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime had agreed to give an accounting of its chemical arsenal within a week. (Writing by Jeffrey Heller, Editing by Jeffrey Heller)