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Russian President Vladimir Putin is to hold talks with US State Secretary John Kerry in Moscow to discuss the crisis in Syria, BBC reported. 

Mr Kerry's visit comes after Israel launched two air strikes in southern Syria, which sources say targeted weapons bound for militants in Lebanon.

Russia condemned the attacks as threatening regional stability.

President Putin had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Kremlin said.

Ahead of Mr Kerry's visit, Russia's foreign ministry called on the West to stop politicising the issue of chemical weapons in Syria, BBC Moscow correspondent Steven Rosenberg reports.

It expressed concern that world public opinion was being prepared for possible military intervention, he adds.

The United Nations has played down claims by one of its experts that there was evidence rebels had used nerve gas.

Investigator Carla Del Ponte earlier said testimony from victims and doctors had given rise to "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof" that opposition forces had used sarin.

But the Commission of Inquiry on Syria stressed on Monday it had not reached any "conclusive findings."

The colourless, odourless gas is classed as a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under international law.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said it was "highly likely" that any use of chemical weapons that had taken place had been carried out by government forces.

Both the US and Israel have described the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict as a "game-changer", which could trigger international military intervention.