Secretary of State John Kerry said he was "very pleased" and praised Syria at news that experts had begun the process of destroying the country's chemical weapons. Kerry also gave the government of President Bashar al-Assad credit for quickly complying with the United Nations resolution calling for the country to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal. Kerry spoke at a news conference in Indonesia, where is on an official visit. He said the chemical weapons destruction is a "good beginning," and also said that Washington and Moscow would press the U.N. to schedule a date for a Syria peace conference in November. Kerry comments came after the U.N. said inspectors from the Netherlands-based watchdog Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have begun work on making sure the weapons are destroyed.
