SPECIAL REPORT- Syria: A chemical crime, a complex reaction

Demonstrators hold placards outside the Houses of Parliament in London in this August 29, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Files

PARIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In early spring France's ambassador to the United Nations dined with a Russian colleague and discussed the crisis in Syria.

Ambassador Gerard Araud told the Russian diplomat France was going to go public with proof from its intelligence services that Syria's government was using chemical weapons against its own people. The Russian diplomat laughed, according to a source familiar with the meeting. "Gerard," he told his counterpart, "don't embarrass the Americans."