United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has voiced disappointment about Syria's refusal to let UN inspectors enter the country to check reports about the use of chemical weapons, dpa reported.
"It is deplorable that the team could not visit Syria to do an investigation on the ground," Ban said Friday after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, the Interfax news agency reported.
Lavrov said that Russia supports the UN investigation and expressed hope that an agreement between Damascus and the UN will be found.
Lavrov also expressed surprise at fresh media reports about Russian arms shipments to Syria. "I don't understand, why the media are trying to make a sensation out of this," he said, adding that Moscow never hid that it is delivering arms to Syria, in accordance with "previously signed contracts that do not violate international law".