Assad regime used chemical weapons, US tells Moscow

By Muhammed Bilal Kenasari and Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON/ANKARA

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that Syria has used chlorine bombs and other chemical weapons dozens of times.

Speaking at a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the capital Moscow, Tillerson said Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has used chemical weapons more than 50 times.

“The recent chemical weapons attack carried out in Syria was planned and executed by Syrian forces, and we are confident of that,” Tillerson said.

Lavrov said: "This is a subject where we disagree” with the U.S., Russian news agency TASS reported.

He added that Russia insists on conducting an “objective” investigation.

Lavrov said international experts should be sent to the place where the chemicals were used.

Attack and missile strike

Last week, the U.S. responded to a chemical attack on civilians by Assad forces by launching missiles against a regime air base thought to have been used in the attack, which killed at least 100 civilians.

The U.S. attack raised tensions between Moscow and Washington. Russia is a major ally of Assad, with troops stationed in the country, and the U.S. has suggested Russia may have known about the chemical attack in advance.

The Kremlin called the U.S. strike an “act of aggression” against a sovereign state carried out in violation of international law under a “far-fetched pretext”.

Speaking amid a backdrop of U.S. investigations of Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election, Lavrov also said Russia confirmed its willingness to dispel problems in relations with the U.S.

Lavrov said Moscow and Washington reaffirmed their commitment to fight international terrorism.

Lavrov said he had a “frank” talk with Tillerson.

"We see attempts to hamper cooperation between Russia and the U.S. and exacerbate confrontation,” adding this was "short-sighted,” TASS quoted him as saying.

Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin confirmed his “readiness” to resume a deal on flight safety and preventing incidents with the U.S. in Syria.

Moscow last week suspended its memorandum with the Washington after its missile attack on Syrian military air base.

Meeting on Afghanistan

Lavrov also said Russia expects the U.S. to take part in a meeting on Afghanistan this week.

Representatives of Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran, and India will gather Friday in Moscow to discuss the situation in Syria.

The top diplomats also discussed the situation in Ukraine, implementation of the Minsk agreement, and cooperation on fighting cybercrime.