Putin warns of future chemical weapons 'provocations' to frame Assad

FM Muallem also said on Friday that Syria’s armed forces 'did not and will not' use chemical weapons

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned of future chemical weapons "provocations" in Syria that would be used to frame Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad.



"We have information from various sources that such provocations -- I cannot call them otherwise -- are being prepared in other regions of Syria, including in the southern outskirts of Damascus, where they are again planning to throw some kind of substance and accuse Syrian official authorities of using it," Putin said during a televised press conference.