Russia on Friday warned the United States against targeting Syria's chemical arsenal as Washington considered the use of force against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"With particular concern we perceive the fact that military infrastructure facilities securing the integrity and safety of Syria's chemical arsenal are among the possible targets for military strikes," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"In this respect we warn US authorities and their allies against striking any chemical facilities and adjacent territories," the statement said.

"Such actions would represent a dangerous new turn in the tragic development of the Syria crisis," the ministry said, warning that the strikes could prompt the release of highly toxic substances.

"Besides, one cannot rule out that militants and terrorists would gain access to chemical weapons or chemical warfare agents as a result of such a reckless move," the ministry said, expressing concern over the possible spread of chemical weapons further across Syria and beyond its borders.

"The US bombing of Iraq's Al Muthanna chemical storage facility led to a serious contamination of adjacent territory in 1991," the statement said.

"For peaceful residents of Syria and other countries of the region the consequences can be even more severe."

Russia's warning came as world leaders gathered at a summit in Saint Petersburg failed to bridge their divisions over US plans for military action against the Syrian regime in response to a suspected chemical attack on August 21 in the Damascus suburbs.

Russia earlier this week warned that any strikes could also hit a research reactor outside Damascus, dealing a blow to nuclear security.

Italian warship could evacuate Lebanon troops: navy
Rome (AFP) Sept 06, 2013 - Italy has dispatched a warship to the eastern Mediterranean that could evacuate Italian troops from Lebanon if the conflict in neighbouring Syria spills over the border, the navy said on Friday.

"This is the best possible asset to act quickly in case of an evacuation," a navy spokesman told AFP.

The Andrea Doria, a 153-metre (502-foot) long destroyer, "will monitor the situation", he said.

Italy has 1,100 soldiers deployed in Lebanon, where it heads up the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on the unstable southern border with Israel.

A total of around 10,000 soldiers take part in UNIFIL.

Quoted in Italian media on Friday, UNIFIL chief Paolo Serra said there was "tense calm" in southern Lebanon.

"There have been moments of tension in recent weeks", he said, as the possibility looms of US-led military strikes on the Syrian regime in retaliation over the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians.

The Italian navy said the warship was already in the area, which has seen a major concentration of international naval assets in the last few days.

The navy said it had also sent a frigate, the Maestrale, to patrol off the coast of Lebanon.

The Italian government has ruled out taking part in any armed intervention in Syria without a mandate from the United Nations Security Council.