And They're Off!

The ink isn't dry and the Russians are telling the world that the Syrian rebels need to be forced to talk about ending the rebellion against Assad (that is, Assad survives); and that the international community will not be using force against Assad to compel compliance with the chemical weapons deal. You have to admire their focus on their national interests.

Hey, peace in our time isn't what it looked like on the tarmac:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday it may be time to consider efforts to force foes of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend an international peace conference instead of just urging them to do so.

Lavrov also accused European countries of trying to reinterpret the agreement he reached with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the weekend under which Syria is to give up its chemical weapons arsenal and avoid U.S. strikes.

Lavrov's remarks suggested Russia will resist any rush to threaten military intervention if Assad fails to implement the deal and that it will blame the rebels - and the West - if the agreement does not lead to a wider push to end Syria's conflict.

Ah, our friends, the Russians. Is President Obama really counting on them to salvage his reputation?