Obama asks Congress to delay Syria vote

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 -- U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Congress to delay the vote on the resolution authorizing military attack against Syria, in order to give diplomatic process more time to work, media reports quoted senators as saying Tuesday.

Obama's request came during a lunch meeting with Democrats at Capitol Hill. A Senate vote on the military action against Syria " would be delayed until next week, at the earliest," Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin was quoted by Politico as saying after the president's meeting with Senate Democrats.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin also said Obama wants to determine the "seriousness of the Syrian and the Russian willingness" to get rid of chemical weapons in Syria.

"He wants time to check it out," Levin said.

The United Nations Security Council is reported to hold an emergency closed-door meeting on Syria later Tuesday to discuss Russia's proposal, which asked Syria to "place its chemical weapons stockpiles under international control."

The proposal was met with positive response from Syria. Obama welcomed the proposal later Monday while still harboring skepticism on how Syria will implement it.

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