NEW YORK: The United States on Friday blamed the Syrian government for a deadly chemical weapons attack this month and slammed Russia for failing to stop its ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. "We have a very high confidence that Syria was responsible and, once again, Russia’s failure to stop them and their continued -lack of action- on this front has been part of the problem," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

US intelligence shows a Russian claim that the attack was faked was false, Sanders said. “Our intelligence tells us otherwise. I can’t go beyond that,” she told reporters.

Bashar Assad has used illegal chemical weapons in the Syrian war at least 50 times, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said.

Referring to the Douma chemical attack which has intensified international concern on Assad's actions against civilians, Haley said: “We know who did this. Our allies know who did this. Russia can complain all it wants about fake news, but no one is buying its lies and its cover-ups.”

Haley defended how long President Donald Trump was taking to decide on a potential military strike in Syria. “He has said from the beginning we have to know we’re right, we have to know all the information, we have to know there’s proof and we have to know that we’re taking every precaution necessary should we take action,” she said. “If you rush decisions like this, you make a mistake.”

Haley told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Russia that should the US and its allies decide to act in Syria it would be to defend “a bedrock international norm that benefits all nations” — the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. “The United States estimates that Assad has used chemical weapons in the Syrian war at least 50 times,” she said.

The US State Department said the United States has proof at “a very high level of confidence” that the Syrian government carried out the attack but is still working to identify the mix of chemicals used.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres said at the session that the worsening situation in the Middle East is threatening international peace and security. Guterres also said that Syrians have suffered from random attacks, displacement, torture and relentless bombing for over seven years and that the world is watching.

He continued by saying that international law has been systematically violated in Syria and that he feels angry at reports of chemical weapons use in the country.

Meanwhile, Russia’s ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that US threats to use force in Syria is in violation of international law. He added that Washington seems determined to take military action in Syria and this is dangerous. 

He went on to say that the alleged chemical attack in Douma is just an American pretext and he blamed the Syrian opposition, not the Assad regime, for it.

The Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations Francois Delattre said that the Assad regime is using chemical weapons to attack its opponents in a pre-determined way.

Ambassadors were skeptical about the inspectors fact finding mission due to head to Douma on Saturday. Representatives of France and UK, in addition to the US, criticised Moscow for refusing any inspection findings that blame Assad for atrocities committed against Syrian people.

Lebanon’s Hizbollah militia leader Hassan Nasrallah defended Assad’s regime and the allegation that his troops used chlorine and nerve agent against civilians in Ghouta. “Why would the victors use chemical weapons against rebels in Ghouta,” Nasrallah told his supporters in a speech in Beirut.

He also warned Israel that Iran will chose the time to respond to attacks on its troops after the Israeli raid on the T4 military airfield in Syria, which is used by the Iranians.