Protesters against U.S. military action in Syria march in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. On Tuesday President Barack Obama will address the nation regarding Syria (Photo: AP)
A timeline of political and diplomatic events in the crisis over the Syrian regime's alleged use of chemical weapons:
Monday, 9 September
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama seeks to convince Democrats and Republicans in Congress, meeting at 1800 GMT after returning from summer recess, to give him a green light to launch military strikes on Syria.
Obama accords six interviews to network and cable news shows, while top officials from his administration fan out in Congress to persuade lawmakers ahead of the votes, with the help of graphic videos of the victims of the 21 August attack.
An interview in which Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad denies being behind a chemical attack in a Damascus suburb the US blames for 1,400 deaths airs on CBS television's "This Morning". He warns Washington to brace for retaliation if US forces attacked his war-torn country, saying "You should expect everything... The government's not the only player in this region. You have different parties, different factions, different ideologies. You have everything in this region now."
Thursday, 10 September
WASHINGTON: Obama to address Americans from the Oval Office.
Start of a debate in the Senate on authorising the use of force in Syria.
Foreign ministers of the Gulf monarchies, who "support taking international measures to deter the Syrian regime", to meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a diplomat says.
Wednesday, 11 September
WASHINGTON: A first vote could take place in the Senate on Wednesday, while in the House of Representatives Republican leaders plan a vote in the next two weeks.
In the coming days
The United Nations is expected to release a much-awaited report on the suspected attack. It is expected to help divided European leaders determine a response in the coming weeks, while French President Francois Hollande, of the only country to say it is behind Obama's plan for military action, says he will not act until the report has been released "by the end of the week".
In New York, the UN General Assembly opens on Tuesday 17 September.
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