Syria's Assad: We did not use chemical weapons

A Syrian man mourns over a dead body after an alleged poisonous gas attack fired by regime forces, according to activists, in Douma town, Damascus. Media Office Of Douma City / AP Photo

MOSCOW // Syrian President Bashar Assad says his troops did not use chemical weapons in an attack on rebel-held suburb in a Damascus suburb last week where hundreds of people died.

Assad told Russia's Izvestia daily that the accusations that his troops were responsible were "politically motivated." He said in an interview published Monday that attacking such an area with chemical weapons would not make sense for the government as there was no clear frontline between regime and rebel forces.

Syria said Sunday that a U.N. team could investigate the site but a senior White House official dismissed the deal as "too late to be credible."