G7 rejects sanctions on Russia following Syria chemical attack

Sanctions against Russia and Syria will not be put in place until after an investigation into last week's apparent chemical attack.

Foreign ministers were looking for a common position on the Syrian conflict, before the US secretary of state, heads to Russia to try to persuade it to abandon its Syrian ally.

The nations agreed there was no solution to the Syria crisis since President Assad is still in power.

But proposals to target sanctions at senior military leaders were side-lined.

Sanctions against Russia and Syria will not be put in place until after an investigation into last week's apparent chemical attack, British government sources told BBC.

Members of the G7 group of leading industrialised nations agreed to have the implementation of certain sanctions delayed, until there was "hard and irrefutable evidence" over the alleged chemical attack, news sources understand.

Syria has denied that it carried out a chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun last week, which left 89 people dead.

Italian foreign minister Angelino Alfano said the G7 had broadened consultations in Italy on Tuesday morning, including key regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey.

He declared the talks "a political success".

The Trump administration had initially stressed strictly limited objectives for a cruise missile strike last week on a Syrian air force base, saying it was intended to discourage the repeat of a chemical attack on Tuesday against civilians and that the focus of US efforts in Syria remains combating the Islamic State (Isis).