UN chief regrets inability of chemical experts to visit Syria

It is regrettable that experts investigating the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria have been unable to visit the country, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday. "It is regrettable that the team in charge of this investigation was unable to visit Syria and conduct its inquiry on the spot," Ban Ki-moon told reporters after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov, for his part, stressed that the Syria crisis could be resolved only via an intra-Syria dialogue without outside interference. Russia hopes Syria will "remain a sovereign and integrated state," he said, adding that Ban supports the initiative to convene an international conference on Syria that was proposed during a recent visit to Moscow by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The Syrian government and the opposition have been trading accusations over the use of poison gas in their armed conflict. Three UN member states, namely Syria, Britain and France, demanded an inquiry into the incident. The experts' team arrived in Cyprus in April, waiting for Syria's permission to enter the country.