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BEIRUT (AP) - A high-ranking Syrian official has welcomed the U.S.-Russian agreement to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, calling it a "victory" for Damascus.
The comments Sunday from Minister of National Reconciliation Ali Haidar to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti are the first by a senior Syrian government official on the deal struck a day earlier in Geneva.
RIA Novosti quoted Haidar as saying the agreement "will help Syrians get out of the crisis" and also "averted a war against Syria by removing the pretext for those who wanted to unleash one."
The United States had threatened to carry out punitive strikes against Syria over a suspected chemical attack last month that Washington blames on the Damascus regime.
Haidar credited Russia with brokering the deal.
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