Summary Russian FM Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius met in Moscow on Tuesday.
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia and France on Tuesday admitted they still had differences over how to solve the Syrian conflict ahead of a debate in the UN Security Council over stripping the country of its chemical arsenal.
After meeting in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French counterpart Laurent Fabius said they had differing visions of how to proceed toward the common goal of a peaceful and chemical weapons-free Syria.
Russia also strongly rejected claims by both France and the United States that a UN report released on a sarin attack outside Damascus on August 21 placed the blame with the Syrian government.
Despite sharing the same goal of destroying Syria s weapons and holding an eventual peace conference, "we have differences over how to achieve it," Lavrov said.
He added that the UN report "proves that chemical weapons were used" but does not prove that the regime of Bashar al-Assad was behind it, he said, adding that "there is still no answer to the question of where the missile (used in the August 21 attack) was produced."
There is still "most serious basis to believe that this was a provocation," Lavrov said of the attack, calling on world powers not to "play up emotions" when making decisions, but rather "rely on professionals".
Fabius said however that the UN report left "no doubt that the Damascus regime was responsible" for the chemical attack.
He said there was a "difference in approach" between France and Russia on the methods required to reach peace but the two sides were "perfectly agreed" on the need for a political solution.
