PARIS: France's foreign minister said on Tuesday a suspected chemical weapons attack by Syrian government forces was a way of testing the new U.S. administration and it was time Washington clarified its position on President Bashar Assad.

"It's a test. That's why France repeats the messages, notably to the Americans to clarify their position," Jean-Marc Ayrault told RTL radio, adding that it could do so when the U.N. Security Council meets on Wednesday.

"I told them that we need clarity. What's your position? The question is to know, yes or no, whether the Americans support a political transition in Syria, which means organising this transition, elections and that at the end of the process the question of Assad's departure is asked."