Summary Syrian government on Friday dismissed US charges that it used chemical weapons.
BEIRUT (AP) - The Syrian government on Friday dismissed US charges that it used chemical weapons as "full of lies," accusing President Barack Obama of resorting to fabrications to justify his decision to arm Syrian rebels.
The commander of the main rebel umbrella group welcomed the US move, saying it would lift his fighters morale.
The US decision to begin arming the rebels, though details have not been completed, marks a deepening of US involvement in Syria s two-year civil war. It comes as President Bashar Assad s forces have been scoring victories, driving rebels out of a key town near the Lebanese border and launching offensives in the center and north, targeting Aleppo, the nation s largest city.
US officials said the administration could provide the rebel fighters with a range of weapons, including small arms, ammunition, assault rifles and a variety of anti-tank weaponry such as shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and other missiles.
However, no final decisions have been made on the type of weaponry or when it would reach the rebels, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss internal administration discussions with reporters.
In addition to the increased military aid, the US also announced Thursday it had conclusive evidence that Assad s regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against opposition forces. The White House said multiple chemical attacks last year killed up to 150 people.
Obama has said the use of chemical weapons cross a "red line," triggering greater US involvement in the crisis.
"The White House has issued a statement full of lies about the use of chemical weapons in Syria, based on fabricated information," a statement issued Friday by the Syrian Foreign Ministry said. "The United States is using cheap tactics to justify President Barack Obama s decision to arm the Syrian opposition," it said.
The statement also accused the US of "double standards," saying America claims to combat terrorism while providing support for "terrorist" groups in Syria, such as Jabhat al-Nusra, with arms and money. The group, also known as the Nusra Front, is an al-Qaida affiliate that has emerged as one of the most effective rebel factions in Syria.
The commander of the main Western-backed rebel group fighting in Syria said he hoped that US weapons will be in the hands of rebels in the near future, noting it would boost the spirits of the fighters on the ground.
Loay AlMikdad, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, said Idris will be meeting with international players in the coming days, starting Saturday, to work out the details of what is to be delivered and how.
AlMikdad said the rebels have asked for shoulder propelled rockets, thermal anti-tank missiles, anti-aircrafts missiles, surface to surface missiles and armored vehicles.
Assad s forces, aided by fighters from Lebanon s militant group Hezbollah, captured Qusair on June 5, dealing a heavy blow to rebels who had been entrenched in the strategic town for over a year.
Since then, the regime has shifted its attention to recapture other areas in the central Homs province and Aleppo to the north.
The regime s advances have added urgency to US discussions on whether to provide the rebels with weapons.
The decision came a day after the United Nations said nearly 93,000 people have been confirmed dead in Syria s civil war, but the actual number is believed to be much higher.
Russia, a staunch ally of Assad, on Friday disputed the US charge that Syria used chemical weapons against the rebels.
President Vladimir Putin s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters that the information provided by US officials to Russia "didn t look convincing."
Asked if Russia could retaliate to the US move to supply weapons to the Syrian rebels by delivering the S-300 air defense missile systems to the regime, Ushakov said "there is no talk about it yet."
"We aren t competing over Syria, we are trying to settle the issue in a constructive way," he said.
