On 6 September 2013 a bill was filed in the US Congress to authorize the use of military force against the Syrian military , mainly in response to the use of sarin in the Ghouta attack on 21 August 2013 . On 9 September 2013 , the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the air strikes could be averted if Syria turned over " every single bit " of its chemical weapons stockpiles . Hours after Kerry 's statement , the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia had suggested to Syria that it relinquish its chemical weapons . The Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem immediately welcomed the proposal
Ghouta attack
Ghouta chemical attack
Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War