U.S. claims of Syrian govt's use of chemical weapons probably staged - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax) - Reports from the United States that Syrian authorities used chemical weapons in the northwest of the country are by all appearances a staged act, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

"Most likely, this was yet another instance stage-managed by militants of the armed Syrian opposition in the populated center of Kabani in Latakia province," Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.