Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned on Monday that Western military action against his country would trigger a regional war.  

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

"The Middle East is a powder keg, and the fire is approaching today," Assad said in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro on Monday.

"One must not speak only of the Syrian response, but rather what could be produced after the first strike," he said. " Because nobody can know what will happen. Everyone will lose control of the situation when the powder keg explodes. "

"Chaos and extremism will spread. The risk of a regional war exists," he warned.

Anybody who contributes to the financial and military reinforcement of terrorists is the enemy of the Syrian people. The French are not our enemy... but if the policies of the French state are hostile to the Syrian people, the state will be their enemy," Assad said in an interview with French daily Le Figaro.

"There will be repercussions, negative ones obviously, on French interests," the Syrian president said.

He also called on the United States and France to "come up with a single piece of proof."

"Obama and Hollande have been incapable of doing so," he added.

A report presented to parliament by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says that the Syrian government launched an attack which involved "massive use of chemical agents" on August 21 which left at least 281 people dead.

An unclassified U.S. intelligence report released by the White House last Friday put the death toll at 1,429, including 426 children.

But the Syrian president denied the allegations and blamed the rebels for the chemical weapons attack.

The spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated on Sunday that UN mission is "uniquely capable of establishing, in an impartial and credible manner, the facts of any use of chemical weapons based directly on evidence collected on the ground."

Following his meeting with MPs, Ayrault told reporters that his country is determined to punish the use of chemical weapons by Assad's regime with a forceful and firm response.

Ayrault said his country would not act alone and that President Francois Hollande was "continuing his work of persuasion to bring together a coalition."

According to French constitution, Holland is allowed to order an attack without parliamentary approval but has to inform the parliament within three days of its starting. Lawmakers' vote will be compulsory if the operation would last more than four months.

French MPs will meet on Wednesday to debate the Syria issue but Ayrault said there will be no vote on the issue. 

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