Western nations that are calling for military action against Syria have no proof the Syrian government is behind the alleged chemical weapons attack, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. …

Lavrov said in a news conference that the countries calling for action have assumed the role of “both investigators and the U.N. Security Council” in probing the incident.

“They cannot produce evidence, but keep on saying that the `red line’ has been crossed and they cannot wait any longer,” he said.

Lavrov likened the situation in Syria to the run-up before the 2003 military operation in Iraq. He warned against military intervention in Syria, saying “the use of force without a sanction of the U.N. Security Council is a crude violation of the international law.”