Putin, Obama discussed Syria arms control idea last week: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. PresidentBarack Obama discussed the idea of placing Syria's chemical weapons arsenal under international control on the sidelines of a G20summit last week, Putin's spokesman said on Tuesday.

"The issue was discussed," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said by telephone. He would not say who raised the issue or give other details.

Russia announced its proposal to put Syrian chemical weapons under international control on Monday. Hours earlier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avoid a U.S. military strike by surrendering all his chemical weapons within a week but added that Assad "isn't about to do it and it can't be done".