The UN Security Council must be prepared to agree to a binding resolution on Syria's chemical weapons next week, US Secretary of State John Kerry says.
A "definitive" UN report had proven that the Syrian regime was behind an August chemical weapons attack, Kerry said on Thursday.
"Now the test comes. The Security Council must be prepared to act next week. It is vital for the international community to stand up and speak out," he added.
Kerry leaves on Sunday to join world leaders gathering in New York for the annual UN General Assembly set to be dominated by the civil war in Syria.
"I would say to the community of nations, time is short. Let's not spend time debating what we already know," Kerry pleaded.
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"Instead, we have to recognise that the world is watching to see whether we can avert military action and achieve through peaceful means" the destruction of Syria's chemical arms stocks, he said.
Russia has backed Syrian claims that it was the opposition rebels who were behind the August 21 sarin gas attack in which Washington says some 1400 Syrians were killed.
"We really don't have time today to pretend that anyone can have their own set of facts, approaching the issue of chemical weapons in Syria. This fight about Syria's chemical weapons is not a game," Kerry said, addressing reporters in a surprise statement.
Under a deal drawn up with the Russians in non-stop talks late last week in Geneva, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is to make a full declaration of his chemical weapons stockpile by this weekend.
The aim is to turn the weapons over to international control with the goal of destroying them by mid-2014.
Earlier on Thursday, Kerry urged China to play a "positive, constructive" role at the UN on a resolution to rein in Syria's chemical weapons.
At the start of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Kerry acknowledged that the two sides have "disagreed sharply" over the global response to Syria's use of chemical arms.
In the past Beijing - which like Washington is a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council - has blocked resolutions seeking to condemn the regime during the brutal civil war.
But Wang says he is ready for "in-depth" talks on all issues, including Syria, "with an open mind".
