Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday that the U.S. is prepared to cut off all engagement with Russia on Syria unless Russia immediately stops its assault on Aleppo.
“[Kerry] stressed that the burden remains on Russia to stop this assault and allow humanitarian access to Aleppo and other areas in need,” according to spokesman John Kirby in his readout of the morning phone call. “He informed the Foreign Minister that the United States is making preparations to suspend U.S.-Russia bilateral engagement on Syria – including on the establishment of the Joint Implementation Center – unless Russia takes immediate steps to end the assault on Aleppo and restore the cessation of hostilities.”
The new policy comes two days after Secretary of State John Kerry declared it would be “diplomatic malpractice” not to continue talks. Kerry has been trying to negotiate a peaceful end to the Syrian civil war, most recently brokering a ceasefire agreement that was supposed to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Aleppo, a major city held in part by U.S.-backed rebels. That pact was broken with the bombing of United Nations aid convoy, followed by redoubled attacks on Aleppo. The U.S. has blamed Russia for the violence, regardless of whether Russia is supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad’s strikes or conducting its own.
Obama administration officials have never been optimistic about the Kerry negotiations, but just two days ago Kerry was still working on reviving the ceasefire.
“It would be diplomatic malpractice” to stop the talks, he said on Monday. “We will have to see whether or not anything can develop in the next days that indicates a different approach from the Russians and from the regime.”
