Russia, Syria and Iran warn US against further strikes

The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime were united in condemnation of US strikes on Syria at a joint news conference in Moscow and demanded an independent investigation of the chemical attack in Idlib's town of Khan Shaykhun.

After their meeting in Moscow, the foreign ministers of the three countries called for an investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the chemical weapons attack in Syria last week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We insist on carrying out thorough, objective, unbiased investigation of the circumstances of the use of chemical substances in Khan Shaykhun on April 4.

"The United States and their allies should respect Syria's sovereignty and did not afford actions such as the one (took place) on April 7, because they can lead to the most serious consequences not only for regional but also for global security, and for the foundations upon which the international law and world order are based. Examples of Iraq, Libya, and other countries are known to everyone," he said.

The foreign minister of the Syrian regime, Walid Muallem, said Syria did "not possess chemical weapons and this had been confirmed by the OPCW in 2014."

Tehran representative Javad Zarif also repeated criticism of the US strike on the Syrian air base, adding that "it is essential to prevent such acts as the events in Khan Shaykhun in future,"

A British delegation at the world's chemical weapons watchdog said on Thursday that samples taken from the attack tested positive for the nerve agent sarin, confirming earlier testing by Turkish authorities.

The April 4 sarin gas attack in the town of Khan Shaykhun killed scores of people and prompted the US to launch a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base.