Putin said the West still needed to put forward cast-iron proof of the circumstances of the attack, which some Russian officials have previously blamed on rebels seeking to discredit the regime.
“If there is evidence that chemical weapons were used, and by the regular army, then this evidence must be presented to the UN Security Council. And it must be convincing,” Putin said.
If there was clear proof of what weapons were used and who used them, Russia “will be ready to act in the most decisive and serious way,” Putin said.
But he reaffirmed his past arguments it would have been “absurd and not in line with any logic” for the Syrian regime to have used chemical weapons at a time when it is on a military offensive.
Putin appeared to acknowledge he had seen the “horrific images” posted on the Internet that allegedly show children killed in the chemical attack outside Damascus.
“But the question is, who did what and who is guilty,” Putin said.
Putin confirmed that Russia had delivered some components of sophisticated S-300 missile systems to Syria but revealed for the first time deliveries had now been halted.
“We have delivered separate components but the whole delivery has not been completed and for the moment we have suspended it,” Putin said, without specifying the reason for halting the deliveries.
The contract had been vehemently condemned by the West which argued that Moscow was handing Damascus the firepower to hit back at eventual air attacks.
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