The Russian President told journalists that if Barack Obama had evidence Bashar al-Assad's forces had the chemical weapons and launched the attack, Washington should present it to the UN weapons inspectors and the Security Council.
Speaking after the US released its intelligence report, Mr Putin said: "I am convinced that it (the chemical attack) is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict, and who want to win the support of powerful members of the international arena, especially the United States."
He rejected American intercepts of Syrian communications as evidence, saying that they cannot be used to take "fundamental decisions" such as using military force on Syria.
Mr Putin said the US President, as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, should remember the impact any US attack would have on Syrian civilians.
He went on to call for calm, and asked Mr Obama to think carefully before going to war. » | Roland Oliphant, Moscow | Saturday, August 31, 2013
