Russia

Foreign ministers will focus on how to pressure Russia to distance itself from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Allies will also be seeking clarity from the US on its Syria policy, after some apparently mixed messages.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson strongly criticised Russia on Sunday.

He said that it had failed to prevent Syria from carrying out a chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun last Wednesday which left 89 people dead.

A meeting of G7 foreign ministers rejected a British plan to impose targeted sanctions on military personnel in Russia and Syria who had been "contaminated by the appalling actions of the Assad regime."

Britain had hoped to strengthen the hand of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ahead of his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

Russia had agreed to ensure Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles were destroyed - and its failure to do this enabled the attack, he said.

G7 foreign ministers are preparing to meet in Italy later on Monday.

Talks will focus on how to increase pressure on Russia to distance itself from Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad.

On Tuesday, Mr Tillerson will continue from the G7 to Moscow, where he will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

Russia is the Syrian government's main ally, and helped facilitate a 2013 agreement to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal.

Sir Michael, writing in the Sunday Times, said the Kremlin was responsible "by proxy" as the "principal backer" of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

It comes after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson cancelled a visit to meet his opposite number in Moscow.

The attack has been widely blamed on the Syrian government.

At least six people are reported to have been killed in the US missile strikes early on Friday.

Syria's ally Russia accused the US of encouraging "terrorists" with its unilateral actions.

"I'm disappointed in that response," said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"It indicates their continued support for the Assad regime and, in particular, their continued support for a regime that carries out these type of horrendous attacks on their own people.

"So I find it very disappointing, but, sadly, I have to tell you, not all that surprising," he added.

The Pentagon is looking for any evidence that the Russian government knew about or was complicit in the attack in Idlib province that killed at least 80 people and injured dozens more, a senior US defense official said.

The suspects are from Central Asian countries and have been active since November, Russian officials add.

There is no evidence they are connected with Akbarzhon Jalilov, a Kyrgyzstan-born man suspected of bombing St Petersburg's metro.

Monday's attack killed 14 people and injured almost 50.

Those detained had been recruiting other Central Asian immigrants in St Petersburg "to carry out terrorist crimes" and to join "illegal armed groups", including IS, Russia's state investigative committee said in a statement.

Activists said the Syrian regime was responsible for the killings of at least 70 people -- 10 children among the dead -- leading the United Nations to replace a scheduled Security Council session for Wednesday morning with an emergency meeting.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military denied using chemical weapons and blamed rebels for the carnage. Russia, Syria's strong ally, said it had no warplanes in the vicinity.

But that didn't stop the Russian Foreign Ministry poking fun at the claims in an April Fools' Day spoof.

On Saturday it published what it said was a new automated answering message for the switchboards of Russian embassies around the world.

"You have reached the Russian embassy, your call is very important to us," the audio message begins. "To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1."

"To use the services of Russian hackers, press 2," and "to request election interference, press 3."