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EU's Catherine Ashton: Wait for U.N. report on chemical attack

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- No military action should be directed at Syria until U.N. inspectors issue a report on alleged use of chemical weapons, the European Union's top diplomat said.

Catherine Ashton -- EU foreign affairs and security policy representative -- Saturday endorsed the French position that no air strikes should be aimed at Syria until U.N. inspectors submit their report, even if their findings are preliminary, The New York Times reported.

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Ashton -- attending a meeting of foreign ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania -- said there appears to be little doubt of a chemical weapons attack in Syria in August. She called the attack "a blatant violation of international law, a war crime and a crime against humanity."

The government has the means for such an attack, Ashton said, while the rebels probably do not.

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