If Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gives up his chemical weapons, a military strike would "absolutely" be on pause, President Obama said today. 
 
 "I consider this a modestly positive development," Obama told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in an interview at the White House when asked whether Syria's apparent willingness to relinquish control of its chemical weapons would prevent a U.S. strike. 
 
 "Let's see if we can come up with language that avoids a strike but accomplishes our key goals to make sure that these chemical weapons are not used," the president said. 
 
 Obama's comments come after the Russian foreign minister suggested today that Syria could avoid a U.S. attack by turning over its chemical weapons stockpiles over to international control and destroying them, a proposal the Syrian government "welcomed." 
 
 Obama said that Secretary of State John Kerry would pursue the proposal with Russia, an ally of Syria. 
 
 But at the same time, Obama said that a potential diplomatic resolution doesn't mean that Congress should withdraw the threat of military action. 
 
 "I don't think we would have gotten to this point unless we had maintained a credible possibility for a military strike and I don't think now is the time for us to let up on that," Obama said. 
 
 Assad is accused of using chemical weapons against his own people on a small scale "multiple times" since March and, according to the White House, an Aug. 21 attack on Damascus claimed 1,400 lives, 400 of them children. 
 
 Since then, Obama and his aides have worked feverishly for more than a week to build congressional support to strike Syria. 
 
 Today alone, more than 70 lawmakers of both parties came through the White House for briefings with the president's top advisers. 
 
 But while many lawmakers remain undecided, growing numbers are opposed to the use of force. 
 
 Obama suggested that Syria's willingness to pursue a diplomatic solution could give Congress more time to decide on whether to grant him the authority to strike. 
 
 "I don't anticipate that you would see a succession of votes this week or anytime in the immediate future," Obama said. "So I think there will be time during the course of the debates here in the United States for the international community, the Russians and the Syrians to work with us and say is there a way to resolve this." 
 
 Shortly after Obama's comments, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., said on the Senate floor that he would delay a vote on authorizing military force in Syria, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday. 
 
 "Before we vote, I want to make sure the President has an opportunity to present his case to the Senate and the American people," Reid said on Twitter. 
 
 And a new ABC News/Washington Post poll today found nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose military action in Syria. 
 
 Obama said he understood the "skepticism" of members of Congress and the American public, but he warned that U.S. national security interests are at stake if Syria is allowed to use "one of the world's worst weapons" without consequences. 
 
 "I would prefer not having to do it but I think it is important for us to understand that if in fact the choice is between a world in which dictators and other countries believe it is acceptable to use chemical weapons on civilians and children, that will make it more dangerous for us," Obama said. ||||| Story highlights President Barack Obama interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer 
 
 Obama said Russian proposal on Syria chemical weapons was a "potentially positive development" 
 
 Obama said the the United States would maintain pressure on Syria 
 
 The president plans to address the nation on Syria on Tuesday 
 
 Russia's proposal for Syria to surrender its chemical weapons to international control was a "potentially positive development," but could be a stall tactic, President Barack Obama told CNN on Monday. 
 
 "We're going to run this to ground," Obama said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, adding that the United States will work with Syrian ally Russia and the international community "to see if we can arrive at something that is enforceable and serious." 
 
 A 'breakthrough' on the horizon? 
 
 Obama said the new proposal that emerged Monday from Russia resulted from his threat to attack Syria for violating an international ban on using chemical weapons, as his administration contends occurred on August 21 in suburban Damascus. 
 
 He and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the Syrian chemical weapons and the U.S. push for a military response at last week's G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Obama told Blitzer. 
 
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 "We have not seen these kinds of gestures up until now," the president said. "The fact that the U.S. administration and I have said we are serious about this, I think, has prompted some interesting conversations." 
 
 The Russian proposal could lead to a "breakthrough," but would require follow-up while maintaining pressure on Syria and Russia by continuing his push for Congress to authorize a military attack, Obama said. 
 
 In an apparent response to some lawmakers who have questioned U.S. interests in a potential military strike, Obama said Syria's chemical weapons "pose a significant threat to all nations and to the United States, in particular." 
 
 "That's why 98 percent of humanity have said we don't use these. That protects our troops, and it protects children like the ones that we saw in those videos inside of Syria," the president said, referring to video footage that showed people writhing near death. 
 
 The U.S. government says more than 1,400 people died in the attack. 
 
 Obama to keep beating the drum on Syria 
 
 Obama will make a televised address from the White House on Tuesday night as part of the administration's offensive to build support for military action in Syria. His interview with CNN was one of six television interviews on Monday in his effort to reach the public directly. 
 
 "If we can accomplish this limited goal without taking military action, that would be my preference," Obama said. "On the other hand, if we don't maintain and move forward without a credible threat of military pressure, I don't think we'll actually get the kind of agreement I'd like to see." 
 
 Obama told ABC that there was no time limit for an agreement. 
 
 Syria welcomed Russia's proposal Monday, paving the way for a possible diplomatic solution to the crisis that comes amid Syria's two-year civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people, according to U.N. estimates. 
 
 Obama acknowledged that an agreement on the Russian proposal may not solve Syria's underlying civil war, "but it does solve the problem that I'm trying to focus on right now, which is making sure that you don't have over 400 children gassed indiscriminately by these chemical weapons." 
 
 When asked by PBS about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's claim that the U.S. is lying about his use of chemical weapons, Obama said there can be no diplomatic solution if the Syrian president keeps make statements that are "untrue." 
 
 "I think that if we can come up with a mechanism to get these under control, verify and enforce that they are not being used, then we should do everything we can to pursue that," Obama said. "But ... that's not going to happen if Assad thinks that he can lie his way through this and eventually the world forgets the images of those children who were gassed." 
 
 Al-Assad's military lacks capability, Obama said 
 
 Obama also sought to tamp down the specter of a threat from Assad for the United States to "expect every action" in retaliation for potential military strikes in Syria. 
 
 "Mr. Assad doesn't have a lot of capability. He has capability relative to children, he has capability relative to an opposition that is still getting itself organized and are not professional trained fighters," Obama said. "He doesn't have a credible means to threaten the United States." 
 
 However, Obama said it was possible for Iran and Hezbollah to launch "asymmetrical strikes," but dismissed them as nothing more than "the kinds of threats that we are dealing with around the world." 
 
 He told NBC that he had yet to decide how he would proceed if Congress voted against authorizing force. 
 
 In light of the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Obama said the date brings heightened security, but he cautioned that "we're not going to be able to protect ourselves 100 percent of the time against every threat" and that the key was to be prepared without over-reacting.
– Obama has weighed in on the Russian proposal to get Syria to surrender its stockpile of chemical weapons, calling it both a "potentially positive development" and a possible "breakthrough"—but only if it's a genuine offer. The move comes after Hillary Clinton also made cautiously positive comments about the idea, as did John Kerry—though he later tried to back away from them. Like Clinton, Obama says in an interview with CNN that he doesn't believe Russia and Syria would have made this gesture had the US not threatened to retaliate in the first place. But, he says in a separate interview with ABC News, if the plan does work, he would "absolutely" pause the military strike. "We're going to run this to ground," Obama tells CNN, saying he and Kerry will work with Russia and others to "see if we can arrive at something that is enforceable and serious." Obama acknowledges that removing every last chemical weapon from Syria won't end the country's civil war, "but it does solve the problem that I'm trying to focus on right now, which is making sure that you don't have over 400 children gassed indiscriminately by these chemical weapons."