Russia is very concerned that Washington may respond militarily to a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syria's government, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged restraint when talking to his U.S. counterpart, the ministry said on Monday, August 26, according to Reuters.

"The minister (Lavrov) stressed that the official announcements from Washington in recent days about the readiness of U.S. armed forces to 'intervene' in the Syrian conflict have been received in Moscow with deep concern," the foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to a conversation on Sunday.