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US missiles fired at Syria will be shot down, and launch sites targeted, a Russian ambassador warned today.

The measures threatened by Alexander Zasypkin, Russia's ambassador to Lebanon, could trigger a major escalation in the Syrian conflict.

In comments broadcast on Tuesday evening, said he was referring to a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian armed forces chief of staff.

The Russian military said on March 13 that it would respond to any U.S. strike on Syria, targeting any missiles and launchers involved in such an attack. Russia is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's most powerful ally.

The United States and its allies are considering whether to hit Syria over a suspected poison gas attack that medical relief organisations say killed dozens of people in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus on Saturday.

(Image: CEN/MoD) (Image: Getty Images North America)

"If there is a strike by the Americans, then...the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired," Zasypkin told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, speaking in Arabic. He also said a clash "should be ruled out and therefore we are ready to hold negotiations".

Russia and the United States blocked attempts by each other in the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to set up international investigations into chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

(Image: CEN/MoD) (Image: CEN/MoD)

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday cancelled a planned trip to Latin America later this week to focus instead on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said. Trump had on Monday warned of a quick, forceful response once responsibility for the Syria attack was established.

Meanwhile, Russian military chiefs released a video showing the country’s missile defence systems.

(Image: AFP)

The video - made by Russia’s Ministry of Defence to celebrate Russia's Air Defence Day - shows millions of pounds worth or missile hardware being fired in live testing.

Images of missiles being launched from underground silos and mobile launch platforms are accompanied by massive explosions.

Experts have noted that the weapons on show include the S-400 missile system, the S-300 missile system, as well as a short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile, the Pantsir-S1.