BERLIN (REUTERS) - US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday reports that the United States was ready to go to war in Syria were exaggerated and he also reiterated his view that the Damascus government had used chemical weapons and could not regain legitimacy.

"Some of the stories that have been out there publicly have gotten a little overcranked in terms of the idea that somehow the United States is preparing to go all in and participate in another war. What we want to do is end a war," Obama said.

"We're confident that in fact the (Syrian) government has used chemical weapons. The Russians are sceptical," he added.

Differences between Russia and the West mean an international conference on Syria is now unlikely before August.