Mr. Assad’s government and its ally Russia have continued to claim publicly that Syrian rebels were responsible for the attacks, which killed hundreds of people, many of them children, in the most lethal chemical warfare attack in decades. In the same interview, he said Syria has given Russia evidence that implicates rebels in the August 21 attack, which occurred outside Damascus. In the midst of a civil war, Mount Qasioun is now largely off limits because it has become a government-controlled military zone.
– Just when it seemed like the US and Russia were suspiciously close to seeing eye-to-eye on Syria, things move back to more familiar territory. A Russian government minister has slammed the UN report findings that chemical weapons were used in Syria as "biased and one-sided," while claiming it has "material evidence" that Syrian rebels used chemical weapons, the BBC reports. Russia's not-at-all biased or one-sided source on this? Damascus. The UN report actually didn't accuse either party of using the weapons, though western governments have said it as good as points the finger. "When you look at the details of the evidence they present—it is inconceivable that anybody other than the regime used it," President Obama said yesterday, per Al Jazeera. Experts also tell the New York Times that the details in the report point right back to a powerful Syrian government military base. But Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov says the country wants to examine other alleged incidents of chemical weapons use prior to the August 21 attacks. And so does the UN, it would seem: it will be sending inspectors back for more investigations as early as next week, reports CNN.