A Pakistani lawyer places a photograph of the US President Barack Obama on a donkey, against a possible US attack on Syria in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Bashar al-Assad government, during a protest in Lahore on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Israel Tuesday confirmed that two missiles launched from the Mediterranean in the direction of Syria was part of a joint US-Israel military exercise, amid growing expectations of Western military action in the Middle East country.

It came after Moscow's defense ministry said its early warning system had detected the launch of two ballistic missiles from the central part of the Mediterranean fired towards the Sea's eastern coastline on Tuesday morning.

Israel said the launch was an Ankor (Sparrow) -type radar missile.

The Sparrow, which simulates the long-range missiles of Syria and Iran, is used for target practice by Israel's US-backed ballistic shield Arrow.

Russia Thursday hosts the G20 summit hoping to push forward an agenda on the prospect of US-led military action in Syria.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the topic of Syria "is not on the agenda, but any leader at the summit can raise this question."

US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he was confident that Congress would vote in favor of US military action in Syria and said the US had a broader plan to help rebels defeat President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

Taleb Ibrahim, a political analyst based in Damascus, called Obama a "liar" by claiming the potential strike would be a "limited" one, noting the US president said so to "deceive Russia, China and Iran."

"If [the US] wants to destroy the air defense system, it has to launch attacks against the electricity generating facilities, and if it wants to prevent the Syrian army from striking back, it has to destroy the communication facilities," said Ibrahim, adding that "no one should expect Syria to stay silent" about the attack. He warned that once the US strike takes place, the Syrian army may attack Israel and US bases in the region with its thousands of missiles and Hezbollah is also ready to fight, which will make it a "regional war."

Over 2 million Syrians have fled their country, the UN said Tuesday.

Agencies contributed to this story