Moscow, Aug 30 (IANS): Russian Envoy to the US Anatoly Antonov has told Washington that Moscow is concerned over signs of US preparing new strikes on Syria and warned against "groundless and illegal aggression" against the Middle-East country.

We have expressed concerns about American signals of preparing new strikes on Syria on the pretext of a possible use of "chemical weapons" by Syrians, Sputnik news quoted Antonov as saying.

The Russian Defence Ministry's warning about potential chemical attacks being planned in Syria is based on concrete facts. The Ministry has warned that the US could use this as a pretext for a new attack on Syrian state facilities, Russian Envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.

On August 21, the UK, the US and France stated that they "will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime".

The statement also called on supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "use their influence to uphold the global norm against chemical weapons use".

On August 22, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that the US would respond "very strongly" if the Syrian government used chemical weapons.

While Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that Damascus is physically incapable of using chemical weapons because its chemical arsenal has been completely destroyed.