Russia on Friday welcomed the British parliament's rejection of military action against the Syrian regime and warned that such an attack without U.N. approval would deal a major blow to the existing world order.

President Vladimir Putin's chief foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the British vote showed growing public understanding of the dangers of an attack against President Bashar Assad's regime.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed Thursday on the need for the U.N. Security Council to study a report by U.N. experts on the alleged chemical attack outside Damascus, the Kremlin said.

"Both sides proceed from the fact that active work will be continued within the framework of the United Nations and other formats on issues of a political and diplomatic settlement of the current situation," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Russian police said Wednesday they had raided an exhibition and confiscated a painting that portrayed President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev lounging together in women's lingerie.

Police said they confiscated four paintings by artist Konstantin Altunin and closed down the exhibition of his work in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg, which is set to host world leaders for the G20 summit next month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday told British Prime Minister David Cameron that there was no evidence yet that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebels, Cameron's office said.

During a telephone call between the two leaders, Putin said that "they did not have evidence of whether a chemical weapons attack had taken place or who was responsible," according to a Downing Street spokesman.

Russia's growth slowed sharply in the second quarter despite President Vladimir Putin's efforts to reverse the trend before he hosts the G20 summit next month, initial estimates showed on Friday.

The first growth reading from the Federal State Statistics Service dealt a heavy blow to the government by revealing that the economy had expanded in the second quarter of this year from the same period in 2012 at a rate of just 1.2 percent.

The Kremlin denied Friday that President Vladimir Putin had discussed a deal with the visiting Saudi intelligence chief for Moscow to sell arms to Riyadh in exchange for changing its position on Syria.

Putin held talks with in Moscow with Saudi Arabia's influential intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan on July 31, in a meeting which was not announced in advance and has intrigued observers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold his first meeting with new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan next month, the Kremlin said Friday.

Russia has agreed to a proposal from Tehran for the meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on September 13 in Bishkek, Putin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said, quoted by Russian news agencies.

U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to put off a Moscow summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin, the White House said Wednesday, citing a lack of progress in relations and 'disappointment' over the Edward Snowden affair.

Obama talked about the souring relationship with Moscow in a talk show interview late Tuesday, accusing the Russians of slipping back "into a Cold War mentality."

Russia's deputy foreign minister on Tuesday slammed the United States for questioning whether President Barack Obama would meet his Russian counterpart in September after Moscow gave asylum to fugitive Edward Snowden.

"The U.S. administration is bringing into question bilateral contact at the highest level. I think this is absolute distortion of reality, it's looking at the world in a crooked mirror," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency.

The White House said Monday it would decide "in coming days" whether President Barack Obama will go ahead with a summit in Moscow in early September.

The United States has said it is reviewing whether Obama will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow after Russia last week gave asylum to Edward Snowden, who is wanted by Washington for leaking details of U.S. surveillance programs.