U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded on Wednesday that Russian Federation and the Syrian government immediately halt flights over Syrian battle zones, in what he called a last chance to salvage a collapsing ceasefire and find a way “out of the carnage”.
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“This plan won’t work, ” Ryabkov insisted, saying that the United States and other parties in the Civil War continue to convince rebels that “war is the only way of resolvingg the problem and that violence is the only way of toppling Assad”.
It came after the Syrian army announced late on Thursday that it was launching a new offensive to retake rebel-held parts of the city. Russia, then, likely sees little reason to give in to United States demands since it isn’t going to placate them anyhow.
A furious Kerry then told the entire room, Lavrov included, that “even while we are meeting here, they are doing this”, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.
The Assad government and Russian Federation had complained of rebel violations of the ceasefire and the bombing of Syrian army troops by US-led coalition strikes in Deir Ezzor in the east of Syria on Sunday, which left at least 60 dead.
But he said the United States needs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and his chief ally, Russia, to “do their part”.
US Secretary of State, John Kerry said on Thursday after a meeting with the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), “We can’t go out to the world and say we have an agreement, when we don’t”.
He said two civil defence centres were among the buildings hit in the bombardment, reporting artillery barrages, barrel bombings by helicopters and strikes by fighter jets in quick succession.
In a statement issued on Thursday night, the Syrian military had announced that it was beginning a fresh campaign in the city, warning residents to stay away from sites under control of “armed terrorist groups”. The U.S. apologized for what it described as a mistake.
Lavrov had sought a three-day pause in fighting to revive the cease-fire.
But U.S. officials said there was no point returning to a situation in which rebels would be pressed to hold fire, while the Syrian and Russian military could violate the agreement.
A ceasefire brokered by Russian Federation and the U.S. on September 9 hoped to push forward Syria’s peace process, including a nationwide truce and humanitarian aid access.
Russian Federation provided “unsatisfactory” answers, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.
Kerry told Lavrov in a televised exchange at the United Nations that halting the air strikes was the last opportunity for a way “out of the carnage”.
The International Syria Support Group, including Moscow, Washington and other major powers, met on the sidelines of the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders in NY.
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He said, “Those convoys were in the area of the militants, the area under the control of the terrorists”. Like all previous ceasefires, this deal collapsed as well, prolonging the five-and-a-half year old war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced half the population in the country.
