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BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the Syria conflict (all times local):
7:45 p.m.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says a retreat in Sweden with members of the deeply divided Security Council had "cooled down" tensions over Syria, stressing that all 15 members fully support a political solution.
Guterres told a news conference in Stockholm on Monday that the council also agreed on the need to reactivate the U.N.-facilitated political negotiations in Geneva, and made a "strong commitment" to overcome obstacles blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid to all Syrians in need.
But the secretary-general said there was no solution to the dispute between Russia and many council members, including all Western nations, over a new body to determine responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
Guterres said: "We had a very frank discussion and there was an agreement that we should pursue consultations in order to see if the divide that is still meaningful, that exists, can be bridged."
He says a new body needs to be independent, but past experience shows there are ways to take into account concerns that some member states might have about its impartiality.
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7 p.m.
Israel's military says it struck an artillery piece in Syria after a mortar fired from the territory exploded near its security fence.
It says it targeted the area where the shell originated Monday, responding to what it believed to be errant fire.
No Israel casualties were reported.
The military said it "holds the Syrian regime accountable" and "will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty or endanger the safety of Israeli civilians."
Since 2012, Israel has struck inside Syria more than 100 times, mostly targeting suspected weapons convoys destined for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces. Israel has also fired back when errant shells have landed near the frontier.
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4:30 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron has told his Russian counterpart that France is committed to pushing for more dialogue among Syria's warring parties.
The phone call with President Vladimir Putin came Monday, just hours before Macron's state visit to the United States. It was the first call between the two leaders since the French, British and U.S. airstrikes on chemical facilities in Syria on April 14.
Macron said he wants to work with Russia to initiate a "credible political process" and "intensify humanitarian aid to civilian populations," according to the French presidency's statement.
He will travel to Russia on May 24-25.
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4 p.m.
The German government says it stands by its view that the U.S.-led airstrikes against Syria were legal, despite experts saying they breached international law.
German parliamentary researchers last week provided an 11-page opinion to lawmakers that questioned whether the alleged chemical attack by Syrian government forces justified the attack by the United States, Britain and France.
Germany didn't participate in the April 14 strikes.
A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday the German government "took note" of the parliamentary assessment but remains convinced the allied attack was "necessary and appropriate."
Ulrike Demmer said the airstrikes were intended to prevent further uses of chemical weapons by Syrian forces, which in themselves were a breach of international law.
Merkel meets U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington Friday.
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12:45 p.m.
Syrian state media say government forces and their allies are pressing an offensive against members of the Islamic State group in southern Damascus.
State-run al-Ikhbariya TV says the aim of Monday's government push is to isolate IS in the southern Damascus neighborhood of Hajar Aswad from nearby areas held by the extremists.
Hundreds of IS militants hold parts of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and nearby Hajar al-Aswad in southern Damascus. The extremists agreed to give up their last pocket there on Friday but have yet to begin surrendering to government forces and relocating to IS-held areas elsewhere in the country.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, says 11 people have been killed in the offensive since the fighting began last Thursday.
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