President Barack Obama addressed the nation on Tuesday evening to announce he requested Congress to postpone a vote this week in order to attempt pursuing a diplomatic solution in which Syria would ultimately surrender its chemical weapons.

Congress went back into session Monday, aware the situation in Syria following the Aug. 21 chemical weapon attack likely would be voted on soon after Obama announced he would not pursue military action in response to the attack without Congress having the chance to debate it.

Obama made clear both in his Labor Day weekend address as well as Tuesday’s speech he has no intention of setting American boots on the ground in Syria and that military action would be limited, aiming specifically to deter Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government’s further use of chemical weapons.

“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria along with our leadership for a world where we seek to insure that the worst weapons will never be used,” Obama said.

Instead of ordering military action to be taken, Obama has chosen to continue negotiations with the Russian government, which has indicated it would join much of the international community in convincing Assad to give up its weapons.

“It’s too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments,” Obama said. “But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad’s strongest allies.”

Obama said he would continue discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as send U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to meet Kerry’s Russian counterpart later this week.