WASHINGTON: The United States believes the nerve agent sarin was used in addition to chlorine in an alleged Syrian atrocity that provoked Western military strikes, a senior official said Saturday.



The senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said analysis of images and witness accounts from the scene of last week's attack in Douma pointed to the use of the banned agent.

"And while the available information is much better on chlorine use, we do have significant information that also points to sarin use," the official said.

"We've got symptoms described in reports of media and NGOs and other sources. They do point to miosis or constricted pupils, convulsions and disruptions to the central nervous system," she said.

"Those symptoms don't come from chlorine. They come from nerve agents. These symptoms — in addition to the dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries reported — also suggest sarin."

International experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have not yet been able to study the aftermath of the attack, a former rebel bastion in the Damascus suburbs.

But Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has been accused in the past of using sarin, sometimes mixed with chlorine, in attacks which has left scores dead, including women and children.

US, French and British officials cited the Douma attack in justification for their overnight air and cruise missile strikes on alleged regime chemical weapons sites.

They also allege that Assad's forces have repeatedly deployed chemical weapons in attacks over the previous year, but the use of sarin is seen as an escalation.

"It's a much more efficient weapon, unfortunately, the way the regime has been using it, and it results in higher deaths and the deaths, according to the photos of multiple children and women," the official said.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has proof at "a very high level of confidence" that the Syrian government carried out the recent chemical weapons attack in Douma but is still working to identify the mix of chemicals used, the State Department said on Friday.

"We can say that the Syrian government was behind the attack," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a briefing. Asked if the United States had proof of that, she said, "Yes."

 Nauert said a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would arrive in Syria on Saturday to collect evidence.

 

 (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Bill Trott)</s>"The evidence now leans toward the likelihood that there were no chemical weapons or precursors in the sites that were hit. So if the motive were to remove that capability it might have been based on flawed intelligence or the possibility that there was nothing there to destroy in the first place," former CIA officer Phil Giraldi said.

The attacks were launched right before the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was due to visit Douma to seek evidence of the alleged attack, which Syria denies.

"The attack was timed so that the inspectors would not have time to do their job and possibly turn in a report indicating that there was no evidence of gas use, which would have made it difficult to go ahead with the punishment," Giraldi, a former CIA Case Officer and US Army Intelligence Officer said.

Trump’s decision to order the bombardment on Friday appeared to have been driven by political rather than military or strategic considerations, Giraldi said.

"The punishment was more political than anything and had to be done to satisfy the howling mobs in Washington, Paris and London," he said.

READ MORE: WATCH Londoners Slam UK Gov't as May Faces Backlash Over Missile Attack

However, Giraldi predicted that the failure to identify any evidence of chemical weapons or munitions at the targeted sites of the attack might discredit the US government from approving similar strikes in the immediate future.

"There will be no more attacks in the near future given the ridicule that the Friday attack has attracted," he said.

"Assessing the effectiveness of the strikes is difficult, but more vexing is the issue of how many cruise missiles were brought down by S-200 response because that might well condition the likelihood of further attacks," he said.

The US government has said none of the missiles were intercepted and shot down, however, Syria and Russia are claiming three-quarters of them were, Giraldi noted.

"I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between, but it means that the United States is basically engaging in a big lie to make war by cruise missile more palatable to the American public," he said.

Giraldi said he believed President Donald Trump still wanted to pull all US military forces out of Syria, but Trump faced immense opposition from Congress, the US military, within his own administration and from US allies in the region.

"US ground forces will likely leave soon if Trump has his way but he is being opposed by Israel and much of Congress, which means it could go the other way and they will stay to disrupt Iranian activity," he said.

READ MORE: US Presented Missile Strike on Syria as Act of Retaliation — Russian Envoy

On April 13, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom launched 105 missiles on a number of targets in Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack in the city of Douma.

The views of the contributor do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.</s>Bombing Syria was in Britain’s national interest and has had strong international support, Theresa May will insist as she tells Parliament why she ordered the attack.

The Prime Minister is expected to face angry MPs after launching military action without securing the support of the Commons.

But she will say the UK joined the United States and France in co-ordinated strikes following the chemical weapons attack in Douma to ‘alleviate further humanitarian suffering’.

Mrs May will ask for an emergency debate to allow more time for discussion in a nod to the fury among MPs at not being consulted, but she is not offering a vote.

‘There is broad based international support for the action we have taken,’ she will say.

It comes amid reports that Russia has launched a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign in response to the strikes.

Whitehall sources have confirmed a 20-fold increase in ‘disinformation’ spread by Kremlin-linked social media ‘bot’ accounts since the strikes, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK has to ‘take every possible precaution’ to prepare for possible revenge cyber attacks on targets like the NHS and electrical facilities.

Jeremy Corbyn has called for the introduction of a War Powers Act to stop governments launching military action in most circumstances without the backing of the Commons.

The Labour leader said chlorine has been used by ‘a number of parties in the conflict’ in Syria as a weapon and questioned the legality of the airstrikes.

Mrs May spoke in Downing Street in the hours after the blitz and insisted the action was a limited and targeted strike to degrade and deter the Syrian government.

But she also drew a link with the nerve agent attack on Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

The Prime Minister will tell MPs on Monday that the strikes were in the national interest because the use of chemical weapons cannot be normalised, including in the UK.

She will say: ‘Let me be absolutely clear: we have acted because it is in our national interest to do so.

‘It is in our national interest to prevent the further use of chemical weapons in Syria – and to uphold and defend the global consensus that these weapons should not be used.

‘For we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised – either within Syria, on the streets of the UK or elsewhere.’

The Prime Minister spent Saturday evening speaking to world leaders to explain why Britain had joined forces with France and the US and will insist the three nations are ‘not alone’ in believing it was the ‘right thing to do’.

Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia and European Council President Donald Tusk have ‘all have expressed their support for the actions that Britain, France and America have taken’, the PM will add.

United Nations Security Council-mandated inspectors have probed previous attacks and decided Bashar Assad’s regime was responsible four times, MPs will be told.

‘We are confident in our own assessment that the Syrian regime was highly likely responsible for this attack and that its persistent pattern of behaviour meant that it was highly likely to continue using chemical weapons,’ Mrs May will add.

‘Furthermore, there were clearly attempts to block any proper investigation, as we saw with the Russian veto at the UN earlier in the week.

‘And we cannot wait to alleviate further humanitarian suffering caused by chemical weapons attacks.’

Four Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s joined the co-ordinated missile strikes at 2am on Saturday, launching Storm Shadow missiles at a base 15 miles west of Homs.

The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on Russia for ‘covering up’ the actions of the Assad regime.</s>LONDON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western powers will study “options” if Syria’s government again uses chemical weapons, but nothing is planned as yet, Britain’s foreign minister said on Sunday, after raids on Syrian targets triggered heated debate over their legality and effectiveness.

U.S., French and British missile attacks struck at the heart of Syria’s chemical weapons program on Saturday in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack a week ago, although the restrained assault appeared unlikely to halt Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s progress in the seven-year-old civil war.

The bombing, denounced by Damascus and its allies as an illegal act of aggression, was the biggest intervention by Western countries against Assad and his powerful ally Russia.

But the three countries said the strikes were limited to Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities and not aimed at toppling Assad or intervening in the civil war.

Speaking on British television, British Foreign Secretary (Minister) Boris Johnson threw his weight behind Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to take part in the attack, saying it was the right thing to do to deter further use of chemical weapons.

“There is no proposal on the table at the moment for further attacks because so far thank heavens the Assad regime have not been so foolish as to launch another chemical weapons attack,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

“If and when such a thing were to happen, then clearly with allies we would study what the options were.”

His comments appeared in line with those of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who said at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Trump told her that if Syria uses poisonous gas again, “The United States is locked and loaded.”

The Western countries said the strikes were aimed at preventing more Syrian chemical weapons attacks after a suspected poison gas attack in Douma on April 7 killed up to 75 people. They blame Assad’s government for the attack.

But British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said that the legal basis used to support the British role was debatable, adding that he would only support action backed by the United Nations Security Council.

“I say to the foreign secretary, I say to the prime minister, where is the legal basis for this?” Corbyn said.

“The legal basis ... would have to be self-defense or the authority of the U.N. Security Council. The humanitarian intervention is a legally debatable concept at the present time,” he said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday.

In Damascus, Assad told a group of visiting Russian lawmakers that Western missile strikes on his country were an act of aggression, Russian news agencies reported.

The agencies quoted the lawmakers as saying Assad was in a “good mood” and had praised the Soviet-era air defense systems used by Syria to help to repel the Western attacks.

Assad accepted an invitation to visit the Siberian region of Khanty-Mansi in Russia. It was not clear when the visit would take place.

He proclaimed on Twitter: “Mission accomplished,” echoing former President George W. Bush, whose use of the same phrase in 2003 to describe the U.S. invasion of Iraq was widely ridiculed as violence there dragged on for years.

“We believe that by hitting Barzeh, in particular, we’ve attacked the heart of the Syrian chemicals weapon program,” U.S. Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie said at the Pentagon.

However, McKenzie acknowledged elements of the program remain and he could not guarantee that Syria would be unable to conduct a chemical attack in the future.

Syria released video of the wreckage of a bombed-out research lab, but also of Assad arriving at work as usual, with the caption “Morning of resilience”.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Late on Saturday Syria time, a large explosion was heard in a Syrian government-controlled area in a rural region south of Aleppo, according to the Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said the cause of the explosion was unknown, as well as its target.

Russian and Iranian military help over the past three years has allowed Assad to crush the rebel threat to topple him.

The United States, Britain and France have all participated in the Syrian conflict for years, arming rebels, bombing Islamic State fighters and deploying troops on the ground to fight that group. But they have refrained from targeting Assad’s government, apart from a volley of U.S. missiles last year.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the strikes were “unacceptable and lawless.”

Syrian state media called them a “flagrant violation of international law,” while Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called it a crime and the Western leaders criminals.

Washington described the strike targets as a center near Damascus for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weapons; a chemical weapons storage site near the city of Homs; and another site near Homs that stored chemical weapons equipment and housed a command post.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all Security Council members to exercise restraint and avoid escalation in Syria, but said allegations of chemical weapons use demand an investigation.

Inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW were due to try to visit Douma to inspect the site of the suspected gas attack. Moscow condemned the Western states for refusing to wait for their findings.

Russia, whose ties with the West have sunk to levels of Cold War-era hostility, denies any gas attack happened in Douma and even said Britain staged it to whip up anti-Russian hysteria.

Syria agreed in 2013 to give up its chemical weapons after a nerve gas attack killed hundreds of people in Douma. Damascus is still permitted to have chlorine for civilian use, although its use as a weapon is banned. Allegations of Assad’s chlorine use have been frequent during the war although, unlike nerve agents, chlorine did not produce mass casualties as seen last week.</s>Jordanian Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Thlaji, commander of the exercises from the Jordanian side, said the drills will involve all branches of the military, including special forces. Training will include counterterrorism, border security, crisis management, strategic communications and future planning, he said, according to Jordanian media.

Approximately 7,000 troops are involved in the drills, including 3,500 US personnel.

US CENTCOM director of Exercises & Training Maj. Gen. Jon Mott has confirmed that a mobile lab team will respond to a simulated chemical incident. The officer told reporters that chemical weapons are a threat that's "all too real, as we've seen recently in Syria."

Mott called the Eager Lion drills a "golden opportunity" to work out threat scenarios which may arise in the region at the operational level.

The US, the UK and France launched airstrikes against targets in Damascus and Homs province on April 14 over an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Eastern Ghouta on April 7; Washington blamed the Douma attack on the Syrian government. Damascus and Moscow condemned Saturday's strikes, and called the Douma attack a false flag.</s>Turkish deputy PM talks on causes of chemical weapons use in Syria

The main reason for the use of chemical weapons in Syria is related to the fact that the world community didn’t apply tough sanctions against the Assad regime at the time, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said, Turkish media reported April 16.

Bozdag noted that Turkey is not only against the use of chemical weapons against civilians, but also strictly condemns all acts of violence against the peaceful population of Syria.

“Turkey’s policy towards Syria is very clear - Ankara stands for stability in the region,” Bozdag said.

On April 14, Joseph Dunford, a US Marine Corps general and the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the US and its allies fired more than 100 missiles at Syria at 9 p.m. EST (1 a.m. GMT) and three main chemical weapons facilities were targeted by missiles from both the sea and aircraft, which triggered Syrian air defenses.</s>U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said a chemical weapons attack “could very easily happen” on American soil.

“We have to be very conscious of the fact that we can’t allow even the smallest use of chemical weapons,” Ms. Haley said on “Fox News Sunday.”“That’s why you saw the president strike this past weekend, that’s why you saw him expel 60 Russian spies after the attack in Salisbury. This very easily could happen in the United States if we’re not smart and if we’re not conscious of what’s happening.”

The U.S., the U.K. and France carried out a coordinated missile attack on Syria Friday night, striking military installations involved with the use of chemical weapons.

Asked whether there will be further strikes, Ms. Haley said that’s “totally up to” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

She said President Trump “has made it very clear that, when it comes to weapons of mass destruction, we have no tolerance for it.”

“We are going to watch out for the best interests of the American people,” she said. “And so he made a point, and hopefully Assad gets it. If Assad doesn’t get it, it’s gonna hurt.”

Asked about Mr. Trump’s use of the term “mission accomplished” to describe the strike, Ms. Haley said it makes more sense in a military context.

“As a military spouse, I know that ‘mission accomplished’ means you have one task currently in front of you, and when it’s completed, it is mission accomplished,” Ms. Haley said. “Politically, ‘mission accomplished’ means something broader, and I think that the president was referring in military terms. We of course know that our work in Syria is not done.”

The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our The Washington Times is switching its third-party commenting system from Disqus to Spot.IM. You will need to either create an account with Spot.im or if you wish to use your Disqus account look under the Conversation for the link "Have a Disqus Account?". Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.</s>WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western powers said on Saturday their missile attacks struck at the heart of Syria's chemical weapons programme, but the restrained assault appeared unlikely to shift the course of the 7-year-old civil war. 

 The United States, France and Britain launched 105 missiles overnight in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack in Syria a week ago, targeting what the Pentagon said were three chemical weapons facilities including a research and development in Damascus' Barzeh district and two installations near Homs.

 The bombing was the biggest intervention by Western countries against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his superpower ally Russia, but the three countries said the strikes were limited to Syria's chemical weapons capabilities and not aimed at toppling Assad or intervening in the civil war.

 The air attack, denounced by Damascus and its allies as an illegal act of aggression, was unlikely to alter the course of a multi-sided war that has killed at least half a million people.

 "We believe that by hitting Barzeh in particular we've attacked the heart of the Syrian chemicals weapon programme," Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie said at the Pentagon.

 U.S. President Donald Trump called the operation a success on Twitter and proclaimed: "Mission accomplished."

 However, McKenzie acknowledged elements of Syria's chemical weapons programme remain and he could not guarantee that Syria would be unable to conduct a chemical attack in the future.

 In New York, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Trump told her that if Syria uses poisonous gas again, "the United States is locked and loaded." 

 At the United Nations, Russia said the U.S.-led strikes would complicate U.N. efforts to broker a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Saturday that the strikes were "unacceptable and lawless."

 Syria released video of the wreckage of a bombed-out research lab, but also of Assad arriving at work as usual, with the caption "Morning of resilience".

 Ten hours after the missiles hit, smoke was still rising from the remains of five destroyed buildings of the Syrian Scientific Research Center in Barzeh, where a Syrian employee said medical components were developed. 

 There were no immediate reports of casualties. 

 Russia had promised to respond to any attack on its ally, but the Pentagon said no Russian air defence systems were used. Syria fired 40 unguided surface to air missiles - but only after the Western strikes had ended, the Pentagon said.

 "We are confident that all of our missiles reached their targets," McKenzie said.

 The Western countries said the strikes were aimed at preventing more Syrian chemical weapons attacks after a suspected poison gas attack in Douma on April 7 killed up to 75 people. They concluded Assad's government was to blame for gassing the Damascus suburb.

 British Prime Minister Theresa May described the strike as "limited and targeted", with no intention of toppling Assad or intervening more widely in the war.

 U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis called the strikes a "one-time shot."

 

 THREE TARGETS

 Washington described its targets as a centre near Damascus for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weapons, a chemical weapons storage site near the city of Homs, and another site near Homs that stored chemical weapons equipment and housed a command post.

 The Pentagon said there had been chemical weapons agents at one of the targets, and that the strikes had significantly crippled Syria's ability to produce such weapons.

 U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged all Security Council members to exercise restraint and avoid escalation in Syria, but said allegations of chemical weapons use demand an investigation. 

 Syrian state media called the attack a "flagrant violation of international law". Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called it a crime and the Western leaders criminals.

 Inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW were due to try to visit Douma later on Saturday to inspect the site of the suspected gas attack. Moscow condemned the Western states for refusing to wait for their findings.

 Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated to levels of Cold War-era hostility, has denied any gas attack took place in Douma and even accused Britain of staging it to whip up anti-Russian hysteria.

 However, Syria and its allies also made clear that they considered the attack a one-off, unlikely to do meaningful harm to Assad.

 A senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus told Reuters the sites that were targeted had been evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia.

 The Western countries were at pains to avoid further escalation, including any unexpected conflict with their superpower rival Russia. French Defence Minister Florence Parly said the Russians "were warned beforehand", to avert conflict.

 Dmitry Belik, a Russian member of parliament who was in Damascus and witnessed the strikes, told Reuters: "The attack was more of a psychological nature rather than practical. Luckily there are no substantial losses or damages."

 The Western intervention has virtually no chance of altering the military balance of power at a time when Assad is in his strongest position since the war's early months.

 

 ASSAD STRONG

 In Douma, site of the suspected gas attack, the last buses were due on Saturday to transport out rebels and their families who agreed to surrender the town, state TV reported. That effectively ends all resistance in the suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta, marking one of the biggest victories for Assad's government of the entire war.

 Russian and Iranian military help over the past three years has let Assad crush the rebel threat to topple him.

 The United States, Britain and France have all participated in the Syrian conflict for years, arming rebels, bombing Islamic State fighters and deploying troops on the ground to fight that group. But they have refrained from targeting Assad's government, apart from a volley of U.S. missiles last year.

 Although the Western countries have all said for seven years that Assad must leave power, they held back in the past from striking his government, lacking a wider strategy to defeat him.

 The combined U.S., British and French assault involved more missiles, but appears to have struck more limited targets, than a similar strike Trump ordered a year ago in retaliation for an earlier suspected chemical weapons attack. That strike had effectively no impact on the war. 

 Mattis said the United States had conclusive evidence that chlorine gas had been used in the April 7 attack. Evidence that the nerve agent sarin was also used was inconclusive, he said.

 Syria agreed in 2013 to give up its chemical weapons after a nerve gas attack killed hundreds of people in Douma. Damascus is still permitted to have chlorine for civilian use, although its use as a weapon is banned. Allegations of Assad's chlorine use have been frequent during the war although, unlike nerve agents, chlorine did not produce mass casualties as seen last week.

 

 (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Tom Perry,; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Yara Bayoumy, Joel Schectman in Washington; Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam, Ellen Francis and Angus McDowall in Beirut; Kinda Makieh in Barzeh; Michael Holden and Guy Faulconbridge in London; and Jean-Baptiste Vey, Geert de Clerq and Matthias Blamont in Paris; Polina Ivanova in Moscow, Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Peter Graff, Kevin Liffey and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Yara Bayoumy, Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis)</s>Royal Air Force jets joined American and French warplanes and ships in hitting targets in Syria early Saturday in response to a reported chemical attack by the Syrian government in the town of Douma.

The British government is not legally bound to seek lawmakers' approval for military strikes, although it is customary to do so.

May told lawmakers in the House of Commons that consulting them would have been impractical, both because Parliament was on a spring break until Monday and because some of the intelligence behind the decision was classified.

"We have always been clear that the government has the right to act quickly in the national interest," May said, calling the military action "not just morally right but also legally right."

"We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalized, either within Syria, on the streets of the U.K., or elsewhere," May said — linking the chemical attack in Syria with the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter last month with a military-grade nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury.

Syria and its backer Russia have both denied that Syrian government forces carried out the Douma gas attack, suggesting it may have been staged to implicate them.

May said the presence of helicopters and the use of barrel bombs pointed the finger of blame squarely at the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. She accused Syria, aided by Russia, of trying to block an investigation into the gas attack being done by the international chemical weapons watchdog.

"The Syrian regime has reportedly been attempting to conceal the evidence by searching evacuees from Douma to ensure samples are not being smuggled from this area. And a wider operation to conceal the facts of the attack is underway, supported by the Russians," she said.

Ahmet Uzumcu, director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said Monday that the organization's team "has not yet deployed to Douma," two days after arriving in Syria.

He said Syrian and Russian officials who met the OPCW team in Damascus told them "that there were still pending security issues to be worked out before any deployment could take place."

In an unusual move, the British government said it would seek an emergency House of Commons debate on the airstrikes so legislators could have their say. Yet an after-the-fact debate — which may not include a vote — is unlikely to satisfy angry opposition lawmakers.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, called the airstrikes "legally questionable" and accused May of "following Donald Trump's lead." He said Britain should introduce a War Powers Act to ban military action without Parliament's approval.

"We have not done this because President Trump asked us to do so," May said. "We have done it because we believe it was the right thing to do — and we are not alone."

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe justified the military action in a speech Monday to the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament. The speech was being followed by a debate, but a vote on France's participation in the Syria airstrikes is not anticipated.

Under the French Constitution, the government must inform the parliament, but a vote is requested only if a military intervention is expected to last more than four months.

In Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of the 28 EU countries called for a political breakthrough involving regional players to put Syria on track to a peaceful solution for its seven-year conflict.

The ministers said the EU "understands" the need for the coordinated U.S, French and British airstrikes following the suspected April 7 chemical attack. They insisted it was executed with "the sole objective to prevent further use of chemical weapons and chemical substances as weapons by the Syrian regime to kill its own people."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the EU wants to use a major meeting on Syria in Brussels next week to give impetus to U.N. peace efforts following Saturday's airstrikes.

"There is the need to give a push to the U.N.-led process," Mogherini said.

More than 70 delegations are expected to attend the April 24-25 Syria donor conference in Brussels.
Russia denies interfering with the site of a chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, and says a nine-member Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons team currently waiting in Damascus will be allowed to visit on Wednesday.