German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas attends a news conference in Ankara, Turkey September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will make an autonomous decision on whether to participate in any military response to a future Syrian chemical weapons attack in line with international law and the German constitution, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday.

Maas told German news agency dpa in an interview posted on the ministry’s website that diplomatic means were the top priority to prevent the use of chemical weapons, and any German action would be discussed with German lawmakers.

“We will make an autonomous decision in line with constitutional guidelines in effect in Germany, and of course, with international law,” Maas said, days after the German government said it was in talks with the United States and other allies about possible participation in military action.