US intelligence intercepted communications between Syrian military and chemical experts

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Russian Federation vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria last week and called on the government there to cooperate with an investigation into the incident.

"The outcome was pre-determined because we have consistently expressed our categorical disagreement with the content of the document", he said.

He said Russian Federation hopes the USA can give constructive response to this suggestion.

"We have not seen a single fact, or even a hint of facts", he said.

Following on from the Tillerson visit, Moscow has announced Lavrov will host three-way talks with his counterparts from Syria and Iran later this week.

"If there is an invitation for him to meet with Putin, of course he'll do so". In the resulting negotiations, Syria agreed to dismantle its chemical weapons arsenal and ship it to Russian Federation.

"But this distinction doesn't much matter to the dead".

"The goal of these actions is to create yet another reason to accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons and provoke new strikes by the United States", it said in a statement.

First, it would have to be ironclad proof, which could be hard to determine.

Tillerson avoided giving specific details of how Assad would leave power, saying, "We leave that to the process going forward". Both Washington and Moscow, Tillerson said, want a "unified and stable" Syria, so the country does not become a "safe haven" for terrorists. "There is no consensus on additional new sanctions", the Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said, adding that sanctions would be counterproductive. But any expectations of an easy rapport have crashed into reality as the two countries trade escalating accusations over what happened last week in rebel-held territory in northern Syria.

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Meeting allies earlier Tuesday in Italy, Tillerson delivered an ultimatum to Russia: Side either with the USA and its dozens of coalition partners or face the isolation of a partnership with Assad, Iran and Hezbollah.

"The final outcome in our view does not provide for a role for Assad or for the Assad family in the future governance of Syria". The U.S. and Russian Federation have sharply disagreed over whether Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces or rebels were responsible for the chemical weapons attack last week that led to U.S. retaliatory cruise missiles.

Haley, however, would not offer a timeline for Assad's ouster. Tillerson said it was clear the USA saw no role for Assad in Syria's future, given that he had lost legitimacy.

Putin told reporters on Tuesday that Russian Federation would appeal to a United Nations agency in the Hague, urging it to launch an official probe. Tillerson is a former oil executive who was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Putin. In a readout of the calls, the White House said that Trump "commended the two commanders and their crews for the speed, precision, and effectiveness with which they carried out the operation". The idea is for political talks to follow, but Tillerson acknowledged the lack of progress so far.

Still, Tillerson sought to stress the positives from his meetings. Ten other countries voted for the resolution, and Bolivia joined Russian Federation in voting against it.

Russian Federation has maintained that last week's Syrian government airstrike hit a factory where Syrian rebels were manufacturing chemical weapons in the northern Idlib province.

What has Tillerson said?

Syrian government forces battling insurgents in Daraa have dropped several barrel bombs on the southern city, opposition activists said Tuesday, a day after the White House suggested that the use of the crude explosive devices could bring a US response.

Until the chemical attack, the Trump administration had sought to step back from the US position that Assad should leave power.

Trump, who last week ordered airstrikes on a Syrian air base in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack, was asked Wednesday if Syria could have launched the attack without Russia's knowledge.

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