WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The White House and U.S. State Department said on Friday that they have "a very high confidence" that the Syrian government was responsible for the alleged April 7 chemical weapons attack against Douma near Damascus.

"We are confident in the intelligence that we have and in the fact that we know that Syria is responsible for these actions," White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said in a press conference, adding that Russia's failure to stop Syria on this front "has been part of the problem."

She said U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron about Syria earlier on Friday. "We're continuing to have ongoing conversations with our partners and allies."

Activists and rebels in Syria claimed that Syrian forces used chlorine gas in the attack on April 7 against the rebel-held town of Douma. The Syrian government has denied the allegation and called the reports fake news that the West used to justify attacks to the country.

Also on Friday, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Washington has proof that the Syrian government was behind the attack, and will "continue to gather information and further assess it."

However, she refused to show the evidence, saying the thing was "sensitive."