Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Moscow regrets that France criticized Russia for rejecting a UN Security Council resolution on chemical weapons use in Syria.

Russia and China used their veto powers at the Security Council vote Tuesday to block a draft resolution implying introduction of sanctions on Syrians, linked to the alleged chemical weapons use. The French Foreign Ministry said it “deeply regrets” the outcome of the vote.

“I saw this statement. I received it with great regret because it was aimed toward, I am convinced, misleading the French and international public,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his counterpart from El Salvador, Hugo Martinez.

He argued that the goal behind the introduction of the draft resolution was to complicate the atmosphere of intra-Syrian talks.

“The goal was, it turns out, not only to split the Security Council, but also poison the atmosphere of intra-Syrian negotiations where some sprouts of the consent movement just started to arise,” Lavrov stressed.

“Each such suspicion [on the use of chemical weapons in Syria] should be thoroughly and impartially analyzed,” he added.

Despite lack of conclusive evidence, a number of countries, in particular the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, blamed the Syrian government for the chemical attacks.

Source: Sputnik