Russia and Western powers remain divided on who was responsible for a chemical weapons attack in Syria, but are continuing to work together toward a United Nations resolution on the removal of Syria's chemical arsenal.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday the attack last month near Damascus was likely a "provocation" by rebels seeking to draw in outside military help.
His French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, told a joint news conference after their meeting in Moscow that evidence presented in a report by U.N. investigators released Monday "seems to leave no doubt" that Syrian forces were the ones who deployed chemical weapons.
The inspection report presented to the U.N. Security Council does not assess blame for the attack. But the report's underlying evidence, including the trajectory of poison-filled rockets, was cited by the United States and its Western allies as proof of the Syrian government's responsibility.