Syria’s President Bashar-al Assad says reports of a chemical attack by his forces were “100% fabrication”.
In an exclusive video interview with Agence France-Presse, he said “there was no order to make any attack”, reports the BBC.
More than 80 people were killed in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on 4 April, and hundreds suffered symptoms consistent with a nerve agent.
Witnesses said they saw warplanes attack the town but Russia says a rebel depot of chemical munitions was hit.
Shocking footage showed victims - many of them children - convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Sufferers were taken to hospitals across the border in Turkey, which opposes Assad. Turkey has since said it has “concrete evidence” that the nerve agent Sarin was used.
Assad said that the Syrian government had given up its arsenal of chemical weapons in 2013, adding “even if we have them, we wouldn't use them”.
However, the US, the World Health Organization (WHO) and chemical weapons inspectors have all cast doubt on Russia and Syria's claims.
Assad accused the West of making up the story so it had an excuse to carry out the strikes on a Syrian government airbase, which took place a few days after the Khan Sheikhoun attack.
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