THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon says inspectors are ready to deploy to Syria within 24 hours to investigate reported chemical weapon attacks in the country’s two-year civil war but have no permission yet from President Bashar Assad’s government.

Ban says reports about the use of chemical weapons in Syria "should be examined without delay, without conditions and without exceptions."

Ban said Monday, however, that the United Nations is still involved in "technical and legal" negotiations with Syria about the deployment of the chemical investigation team.

Ban was speaking at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.