United States cancels talks with Russia on Syria this week

The US State Department has said it is cancelling a meeting with Russian diplomats on Syria this week.

The meeting at The Hague was about setting up an international conference to find a political resolution to the Syrian crisis.

But a senior State Department official said early today that the meeting between under secretary Wendy Sherman and US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford with their Russian counterparts was cancelled because of the US review about the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The US says it has evidence that chemical weapons were very likely used by the government of Bashar Assad and the official said the meeting would be rescheduled because a political solution was still needed in Syria.

Meanwhile, United Nations experts have collected samples and evidence from Syrian doctors and victims of the alleged chemical weapons attack, following a treacherous journey through government and rebel-held territory, where their convoy was hit by snipers.