BEIRUT: Russia's foreign minister says Moscow expects the United Nations' chemical weapons watchdog to conduct an extensive probe into last week's chemical attack in Syria.
Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons should both visit the Syrian air base, which the U.S. said had served as a platform for the attack, and the town of Khan Sheikhoun that was hit to get a full and objective picture.
He said Russia vetoed a Western draft U.N. resolution Wednesday because it failed to mention the need to inspect the area of the attack.
The U.S. blamed the Syrian government for launching the attack, but Russia claimed that the victims were killed by toxic agents released from a rebel chemical arsenal hit by Syrian warplanes.