(Photo: CBS via Getty Images)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Syrian official does not say whether his country will agree to the idea
• White House says it will 'want to take a hard look' at the proposal
• Syria is one of only 5 countries that have not signed a treaty banning chemical weapons

President Obama said on Monday he would "run to ground" a proposal outlined by the Russians that would wrest control of chemical weapons from Syria and would potentially head off a U.S. military strike against the Bashar Assad regime.

Obama, who conducted a half dozen television interviews on Monday afternoon to try to gin up support for his call for military action against Syria said he would "absolutely" put off a punitive strike if Assad gave up his weapons.

"It's possible if it's real," Obama told CNN in an interview that aired Monday of the possible breakthrough on the Syria crisis. "And, you know, I think it's certainly a positive development when, the Russians and the Syrians both make gestures toward dealing with these chemical weapons. This is what we've been asking for not just over the last week or the last month, but for the last couple of years."