Putin stands by ally Assad after chemical attack as Tillerson heads to Moscow
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned of future chemical weapons "provocation" in Syria to frame President Bashar al-Assad, just as Washington’s top diplomat arrived for talks in Moscow. "We have information from various sources that such provocation — 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 at a televised press conference. He also said he expected the US to launch more air strikes. He repeated his assertion that Russia was set to appeal to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and "call on the international community to thoroughly investigate such incidents". Putin insisted that reports over the suspected chemical attack in Syria that killed up to 80 people in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun last week were reminiscent of the 200...
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