06/09/2013 09:11
G20 'divided' on Syria as US envoy Power criticises Russia
G20 leaders remain divided over the Syrian conflict as they enter the final day of their Russian summit, the BBC reported.
Italian PM Enrico Letta said the splits were confirmed during a working dinner in St Petersburg on Thursday.
At the UN, US ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of holding the Security Council hostage by repeatedly blocking resolutions.
She said the Security Council was no longer a "viable path" for holding Syria accountable for war crimes.
The US government accuses President Bashar al-Assad's forces of killing 1,429 people in a poison-gas attack in the Damascus suburbs on 21 August. The UK says scientists at the Porton Down research laboratories have found traces of sarin gas on cloth and soil samples.
But Mr Assad has blamed rebels for the attack, and China and Russia have refused to agree to a Security Council resolution against Syria.
The US and France are the only nations at the G20 summit to commit to using force in Syria. China and Russia insist any action without the UN would be illegal.