Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, September 19 he could not be 100 percent certain that a plan for the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons would be carried out successfully but he saw positive signs for hope, Reuters reported.

"Will we be able to accomplish it all? I cannot be 100 percent sure about it," Putin told a gathering of journalists and Russia experts. "But everything we have seen so far in recent days gives us confidence that this will happen."

Putin also said he had strong grounds to believe that an Aug 21 chemical attack in Syria was staged by opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Assad has said he is committed to a plan to destroy his country's chemical weapons, but warned it could take about a year, BBC News reported.

Speaking to Fox News, Assad again denied claims that his forces were responsible for a deadly chemical attack near Damascus on Aug 21.

The Syria disarmament plan was unveiled by the U.S. and Russia last weekend.

The West wants the deal enshrined in a UN resolution backed by the threat of military force, but Russia objects.

Damascus has insisted that rebel forces carried out last month's attack in the Ghouta area.

In separate developments, a roadside bomb attack in central Homs province caused multiple deaths and fierce fighting was reported between two rebel groups in the north of Syria.