PARIS, April 12. /TASS/. Paris has evidence to prove Damascus’s use of chemical weapons last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the TF1 TV channel.

When asked if France had evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Macron said "Yes, we have evidence proving that chemical weapons were used last week." The French president stressed that "they were used by Bashar al-Assad’s regime." However, in Macron’s words, all the information needed to be verified.

At the same time, he said that a decision concerning a possible response would be made in due course. "We will make a decision in due course, when we will consider it to be most useful and effective," he said.

Macron pointed out that he had been maintaining contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the situation in Syria. "We have been holding conversations on a regular basis," the French president said in reply to a question as to whether he had discussed the Syria issue with Putin in the previous days.

Alleged chemical weapons attack

A number of non-government organizations, including the White Helmets, allege that a chemical weapons attack took place in Eastern Ghouta’s town of Douma on April 7. In their April 8 statement, the White Helmets claimed that the attack had particularly involved chlorine-filled bombs. According to the White Helmets, dozens died in the attack, while 500 people "reached the medical centers with symptoms of exposure to chemicals."

The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed the statement as a bogus story, while Russia’s Defense Ministry pointed out that the White Helmets were not a reliable source of information as they were known for spreading fabricated news.

On April 9, officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria visited Douma but did not find any traces of chemical weapons.

Russian officials many times warned about impending provocations and staged chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Russia and Syria invited experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to visit Douma in order to figure out what happened there. The OPCW has said that a special mission will be sent to Syria and requested Damascus to make necessary preparations.