WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday suspended talks with Russia on trying to end the violence in Syria and accused Moscow of not living up to its commitments under a ceasefire agreement.

The announcement came as Syrian government supported by Iranian-backed militias and Russian air power pounded the rebel-held area of Aleppo, bombing one of the city's main hospitals and badly damaging water supplies.

"The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the cessation of hostilities," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "This is not a decision that was taken lightly."

The confirmation that the U.S.-Russian talks on Syria have collapsed suggests that there is little hope, if any, of a diplomatic solution to end the 5-1/2-year-old civil war emerging anytime soon.

It could also trigger deeper U.S. consideration of military options such as providing more sophisticated arms, logistical support, and training to Syrian rebel groups that U.S. officials have said were under consideration, either directly or via Gulf Arab states or Turkey.

However, U.S. President Barack Obama has been loath to get the United States more deeply involved in a third war in the Islamic world and U.S. officials have said he is unlikely to do so with less than four months left in office.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened last week to end the talks after a ceasefire he and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, brokered collapsed last month after warplanes believed to belong to Russia bombed a U.N. aid convoy.

In the statement, Kirby said the United States would continue to communicate with Russian military to avoid so-called deconfliction - to avoid accidental military interactions - over Syria.

But he said the United States would withdraw all personnel it had dispatched to prepare for military co-operation with Russia under the latest ceasefire agreement.

"Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments ...and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed," Kirby said.

News of the suspending of the talks came as diplomats said the United Nations Security Council would begin to negotiate on Monday a draft resolution that urges Russia and the United States to ensure an immediate truce in Aleppo. </s> The announcement came as Syrian government supported by Iranian-backed militias and Russian air power pounded the rebel-held area of Aleppo, bombing one of the city's main hospitals and badly damaging water supplies.

"The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels with Russia that were established to sustain the cessation of hostilities," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "This is not a decision that was taken lightly."

The confirmation that the U.S.-Russian talks on Syria have collapsed suggests that there is little hope, if any, of a diplomatic solution to end the 5-1/2-year-old civil war emerging anytime soon.

It could also trigger deeper U.S. consideration of military options such as providing more sophisticated arms, logistical support, and training to Syrian rebel groups that U.S. officials have said were under consideration, either directly or via Gulf Arab states or Turkey.

However, U.S. President Barack Obama has been loath to get the United States more deeply involved in a third war in the Islamic world and U.S. officials have said he is unlikely to do so with less than four months left in office.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened last week to end the talks after a ceasefire he and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, brokered collapsed last month after warplanes believed to belong to Russia bombed a U.N. aid convoy.

In the statement, Kirby said the United States would continue to communicate with Russian military to avoid so-called deconfliction - to avoid accidental military interactions - over Syria.

But he said the United States would withdraw all personnel it had dispatched to prepare for military co-operation with Russia under the latest ceasefire agreement.

"Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments ...and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed," Kirby said.

News of the suspending of the talks came as diplomats said the United Nations Security Council would begin to negotiate on Monday a draft resolution that urges Russia and the United States to ensure an immediate truce in Aleppo. </s> WASHINGTON | Already testy, relations between the United States and Russia plummeted Monday as Washington suspended diplomatic contacts with Moscow over failed efforts to end the war in Syria and President Vladimir Putin put on hold a deal with the U.S. on disposing weapons-grade plutonium.

On the surface, the suspensions were unrelated. But both underscored deep mistrust and rising tensions between the former Cold War foes, who are increasingly at odds on a number of issues, particularly Syria and Ukraine. In the short term, the end of discussions on Syria deals a potential death blow to efforts to slow the civil war and begin negotiations on possible elections in the country that could mean the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

Underscoring the deterioration between the U.S. and Russia, Putin suspended a deal on plutonium disposal hours before the U.S. announcement. The two powers will still continue discussions on the Iran nuclear deal, Ukraine and other non-Syria issues.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. has “done all it could to destroy the atmosphere encouraging cooperation.” It cited U.S. sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and NATO’s deployment of forces near Russian borders.

U.S. officials said that despite the suspension of talks with Russia, they would continue to work for a truce and aid deliveries to Syria in other gatherings, including the International Syria Support Group, a collection of nations, including Russia.

The Obama administration said it decided to cut off discussions on Syria because Russia had not lived up to the terms of last month’s agreement to restore a tattered cease-fire and ensure sustained deliveries of humanitarian aid to besieged cities, such as Aleppo, which has been under bombardment from Russian and Syrian forces.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “What’s clear is that there is nothing more for the United States and Russia to talk about with regard to trying to reach an agreement that would reduce the violence inside of Syria and that’s tragic.”

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments … and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed.”

Kirby’s statement said that Russia and Syria are pursuing military action in violation of the cease-fire agreement, and pointed to their targeting of hospitals as well as the Sept. 19 airstrike on a United Nations humanitarian aid convoy. The U.S. accused Russia of bombing that convoy, a charge both Russia and Syria have denied.

Russia intervened on behalf of its close ally Syria on Sept. 30 last year, joining Assad’s bombardment of both anti-Assad rebel groups and militant groups such as the Islamic State and Fatah al-Sham Front, an al-Qaida spinoff formerly known as the Nusra Front. Russia is interested in propping up Assad in part because Russia’s only naval facility outside the former Soviet Union is on the Syrian coast.

If it had been implemented, the cease-fire deal would have created a joint U.S.-Russian center to coordinate military and intelligence operations. President Barack Obama had overruled Pentagon objections to such cooperation and Secretary of State John Kerry made the offer.

According to a senior U.S. official, the Pentagon has ordered troops who had been deployed to set up the joint implementation center — fewer than 20 — to return to their bases. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The suspension will not affect communications between the two countries aimed at keeping their planes from bumping into each other over Syria.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova voiced regret about the U.S. move and blamed Washington for the failure to persuade the moderate Syrian rebels it backs to cut ties with extremist groups.

“And now, after failing to fulfill the agreements they worked out themselves, they are trying to shift the blame,” she said.

The U.S. had agreed to separate the rebel groups but noted it was an extremely slow process. The U.S. has relatively few personnel on the ground in Syria and even the moderate rebels have said they are frustrated with the pace of U.S. help.

Putin’s decree on plutonium cited the “emerging threat to strategic stability as a result of U.S. unfriendly actions,” as well as Washington’s failure to meet its end of the cease-fire deal. It said, however, that Russia will keep the weapons-grade plutonium covered under the agreement away from weapons programs.

Under the agreement, which was expanded in 2006 and 2010, Russia and the U.S. each were to dispose of 34 metric tons of plutonium, enough material for about 17,000 nuclear warheads. When it was signed in 2000, the deal was touted as an example of successful cooperation between Washington and Moscow.

Associated Press Writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON — The Obama administration made good on an ultimatum Monday and withdrew its cooperation with Russia over Syria, while Moscow suspended a key nuclear weapons treaty it had signed with Washington more than a decade ago.

With the two governments signaling their anger at each other, U.S.-Russia ties hit one of their lowest points since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Exasperated over relentless Russian and Syrian airstrikes on the battered city of Aleppo, Washington announced it was breaking off bilateral talks with Russia over Syria’s fate and canceling plans to share military intelligence and operations-related information with Moscow.

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

The decision came after continuous negotiations, including near-daily telephone conversations between Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, aimed at reducing violence and opening up routes for desperately needed food and medicine for besieged enclaves. They last spoke Saturday, and the Obama administration’s decision was conveyed to Russian negotiators in Geneva.

“Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments,” Kirby said, “and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed.”

Instead, the U.S. alleges, Russia and its ally, the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, used the time to pound rebel-held portions of Aleppo and numerous civilian neighborhoods with barrel bombs and other indiscriminate attacks. Hundreds of people have been killed in the last week.

Russia had agreed to a cease-fire last month, but that fell apart quickly. Russia argues that the United States has failed in its commitment to separate the moderate rebel groups it supports from more radical factions such as the Syrian branch of al-Qaida.

Kirby said the United States will withdraw a team that had been dispatched to open a so-called joint implementation center, in which Russian and American armed forces were going to join efforts to fight Islamic State and other jihadi groups.

Also Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending his country’s participation in a treaty with the U.S. designed to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Putin cited “a threat to strategic stability as a result of USA’s unfriendly acts toward Russia.” This was a reference to a deepening diplomatic spat between the Kremlin and the White House over Syria, as well as tensions and sanctions that followed Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea and its support to separatists in eastern Ukraine.

It is the latest action by Russia that serves to unwind the nuclear cooperation and weapons treaties that have governed the relationship between the U.S. and Russia in the years after the Soviet dissolution.

The nuclear deal suspended Monday was to process 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium — enough to make 17,000 nuclear warheads; it was signed in 2000 by the outgoing administration of President Bill Clinton and Putin’s first government. Expanded in 2006 and 2010, it was among the last strategic accords that put an end to the arms race and were enforced despite the ups and downs of U.S.-Russia relations after the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Putin’s decree stipulates that Moscow will resume its participation in the accord only if the U.S. fulfills a list of demands, many of which run contrary to security policies the U.S. has pursued for decades. The White House would have to lift all anti-Russian sanctions, “compensate” Russia for the sanctions-related losses and reduce the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe to pre-2000 levels. In 2015, NATO opened command points in six Eastern European nations allowing a swift deployment of troops and arms.

The Obama administration said it “regretted” Putin’s action and accused Russia of being the main destabilizing power in the region.

In the decree, Moscow also claims that Washington is training ultranationalist militants in Ukraine and “openly stands up to protect economic crimes” in Russia. It also wants the U.S. to remove personal sanctions and travel bans against Russian officials — a targeted move that hurt some of Putin’s oldest and closest allies whose family members live or study in Western Europe or the United States.

“The decision we made is a signal to Washington,” Lavrov said in a statement posted on his ministry’s website. “Attempts to talk to Russia from the position of power — to use the language of sanctions and ultimatums, and at the same time, to continue a selective partnership with our country only in the areas that are beneficial to the U.S. — are not going to work.”

Although the two dramatic announcements — the break over Syria and the suspension of the nuclear treaty — occurred within hours of each other, U.S. officials cautioned against seeing the events as tit-for-tat.

The U.S. said it would continue to participate in multilateral talks over Syria, aimed at achieving a cessation of hostilities and the delivery of aid, and would communicate with Russia regarding airstrikes to avoid collisions.

Last week, when it first threatened to suspend Syria talks with Russia, Washington said it would consider other options, including additional financial sanctions or even military operations.

State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau would not pinpoint what the final straw was that forced the administration decision, although there were numerous reports over the weekend of Russian-backed Syrian forces bombing hospitals and using chemical weapons.

“This is a grave decision,” she said. “We are very much considering the next step. … Clearly (the Russians) have not pulled back. Clearly they have not ceased their attacks. Nor has the regime. … We came to a point with Russia where we weren’t (pursuing) the same goal.”

Putin’s decree, meanwhile, also calls on the U.S. to provide a detailed plan for the destruction of the 34 tons of plutonium.

Enriched, weapons-grade plutonium or uranium can be detonated to start a spontaneous fission that leads to a nuclear explosion, and the U.S.-Russian deal prescribed the burning of the fuel in remodeled reactors that could be monitored by both sides and international inspectors.

In 2015, Russia started burning the plutonium at a nuclear power station in the Urals region. A similar facility in South Carolina remains unfinished because of high costs.

“We fulfilled our duties, we built the facility. Our American partners did not,” Putin said in televised remarks.

Instead, Putin said, the U.S. opted to mix the plutonium with other, nonradioactive materials and store the mix.

“It means that they are retaining the so-called reverse potential, i.e. (the fuel) can yet again be retrieved, reprocessed and turned into weapons-grade plutonium. That’s not what we agreed to.”

Times staff writer Wilkinson reported from Washington and special correspondent Mirovalev from Moscow.

 ©2016 Tribune Co.

 Visit Tribune Co. at www.latimes.com

 Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. </s> HANGZHOU, China (AP) — President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country.

After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of an economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting. The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered U.S. concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine.

The official said the U.S. was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo. But U.S. was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective. The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said.

The conversation came hours after U.S. and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S.

The strategy has hinged on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria. But Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. In recent days, the State Department has said it is seeking a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another "cessation of hostilities" that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions.

Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this story. </s> The Obama administration is hailing its new initiative with Russia to halt the warfare in Syria as a potential “turning point” in one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

But the room for doubt that the complex agreement announced early Saturday will work is enormous, hardened by years of broken promises and cynical gambits by the warring parties and their backers.

On paper at least, both the U.S. and Russia come away from marathon negotiations with components they demanded.

If the agreement takes hold, Washington and Moscow would form a new military alliance laser-focused on Islamic State and Al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups, a cooperation seemingly unthinkable amid the two countries’ tense relations of late.

And it would finally spare the people of Syria — especially in the besieged city of Aleppo, where civilians are being killed daily — from steady bomb attacks and provide them with desperately needed sustenance under a temporary cease-fire and the opening of some humanitarian aid routes.

But once again, the world’s top diplomats have punted on the fate of Syria’s widely reviled, Russian-backed leader, President Bashar Assad, setting no clear provisions for his removal. That, in turn, leaves questions unanswered as to a permanent solution for the war in Syria, arguably one of the most vexing and tragically handled crises in the outgoing Obama administration.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry acknowledged both the make-or-break nature of the violence in Syria and efforts to decrease it, and the inherent difficulties of success.

“No one is building this based on trust,” Kerry said at a brief news conference in Geneva in the wee hours Saturday, with his partner in negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at his side.

“But let me be clear: Out of all of this complexity there is emerging now a simple choice between war and peace; between human agony and humanitarian relief; between the continued disintegration of an ancient society and the rebirth of a united and modern nation.”

Kerry pointed to two key provisions in the agreement that he says can make a difference over past, failed cease-fires. First, the Assad government will be required to suspend aerial attacks by its helicopters and warplanes on civilian areas. Russia must use its influence to guarantee that, and Lavrov said the Syrian government was on board.

Second, the U.S. agreed to pressure “moderate” rebel groups opposed to the Syrian government to fully distance themselves from the Front for the Conquest of Syria, formerly known as Al Nusra Front, which the U.S. considers Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria. But that will be extremely difficult.

The front’s militiamen work so closely with several of the U.S.-supported rebel groups that they are, as Kerry put it, “marbleized.” They are among some of the toughest fighters in Syria and are widely regarded as the force that was able to partially break the government’s siege on Aleppo.

Under the plan, “a cessation of hostilities” is set to take effect at nightfall Monday, which is also the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. If the cease-fire is “genuine” and verifiable, Kerry said, U.S.-Russian military cooperation will begin. That would include the sharing of intelligence ahead of bombing runs and joint selection of targets.

Critically, neither Kerry nor Lavrov announced the sort of robust, verification protocols that most experts said would be essential. Nor did the diplomats announce any punishment for violating the cease-fire, part of what caused an earlier such agreement in February to break down within weeks.

“With no kind of monitoring mechanism, it will be hard to get Russia and the U.S. to agree on who violated. That was the problem in February, in March, in April,” said Robert S. Ford, the last U.S. ambassador to Syria and now a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “Until the combatants and their leaders decide there is more for them in peace than in fighting, this is not sustainable.”

U.S. officials, skeptical of both Russia and Syria’s intentions, had wanted a longer period of calm than just one week but evidently relented. Kerry also agreed to move the Front for the Conquest of Syria higher on the list of targets, insisting that was not a concession because it is a dangerous extremist group.

Assad has repeatedly used talks and truces to play for time, according to aid workers, diplomats and military analysts.

His ostensible acceptance of the cease-fire in February, coupled with Russia’s entry into the war a year ago, helped government forces gain the upper hand in the five-year war that has killed at least half a million people and turned millions more into homeless refugees.

They bombed hospitals and used chemical weapons with impunity, medical personnel and human rights activists say.

If Syria’s intentions cannot be trusted, neither can the Russians, some Obama administration officials contend. Kerry encountered stiff resistance to new cooperation with Russia from Defense Department and intelligence officials.

Just three days ago, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter delivered a speech in London that was highly critical of Russia’s “coercion and aggression.” He said Russia’s territorial belligerence and its “unprofessional behavior in the air, in space and in cyberspace” made it an unreliable partner.

After the agreement was announced in Geneva, the Pentagon remained cautious. Commitments by the Russian and Syrian governments to abide by a sustained cease-fire “must be fully met before any potential military cooperation can occur,” department spokesman Peter Cook said. “We will be watching closely the implementation of this understanding in the days ahead."

Privately, senior U.S. defense officials said they were doubtful about the utility of any deal with the Russian military.

"Of course, I'm pessimistic. I mean, they're Russians. How could we trust them?" said one U.S. official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

Since the beginning of Russian military involvement in the Syrian conflict a year ago, the Kremlin has angled to collaborate with the United States so they can share intelligence and targeting information. </s> HANGZHOU, China -- President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations about a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country.

After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of an economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting.

The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered U.S. concerns about cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine.

The official said the U.S. was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo. But the U.S. was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective. The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said.

The conversation came hours after U.S. and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S.

The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted.

Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another limited "cessation of hostilities" that has repeated failed in the past.

Obama's meeting with Putin comes as the Russia leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home. U.S. officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information.

The official said Obama raised concerns about cybersecurity issues with Putin, but would not detail the discussions.

Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of the agreement to stop the violence, the official said. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue.

Josh Lederman of the Associated Press contributed to this story. </s> Following weeks of deteriorating diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Russia over Syria — to the point where the U.S. has now placed additional military options on the table — Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a nuclear pact with Washington on Monday, Reuters reports, indicating his willingness to play the nuclear card with the United States.

“Starting in the last years of the Cold War, Russia and the United States signed a series of accords to reduce the size of their nuclear arsenals, agreements that have so far survived intact despite a souring of U.S.-Russian relations under Putin.

“But on Monday, Putin issued a decree suspending an agreement, concluded in 2000, which bound the two sides to dispose of surplus plutonium originally intended for use in nuclear weapons.”

Putin’s decree, released by the Kremlin on Monday, cites “unfriendly acts” by Washington as motivating factors for the move. Under the accord, the U.S. and Russia were each to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium — enough for about 17,000 nuclear warheads.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on President Putin’s move on Monday, stated: “The Obama administration has done everything in its power to destroy the atmosphere of trust which could have encouraged cooperation.”

The agency added: “We want Washington to understand that you cannot, with one hand, introduce sanctions against us where it can be done fairly painlessly for the Americans, and with the other hand continue selective cooperation in areas where it suits them.”

Diplomacy between the U.S. and Russia in Syria appears to have cratered entirely, in fact. On Monday, officials from both countries indicated that talks of any potential ceasefire in Middle Eastern nation have completely fallen apart.

“All contacts between the military have been stopped of late,” TASS reported Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying, adding “there has been no exchange of information.”

Then, in a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State, spokesman John Kirby said:

“The United States is suspending its participation in bilateral channels that were established to sustain the Cessation of Hostilities. This is not a decision that was taken lightly. The United States spared no effort in negotiating and attempting to implement an arrangement with Russia aimed at reducing violence, providing unhindered humanitarian access, and degrading terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including Daesh and al Qaeda in Syria.”

So — for now, at least — it appears any pretext at diplomacy regarding Syria has evaporated, as the world’s two greatest superpowers continue to jockey for dominance in the war-torn region.

“Nothing More To Talk About” As US Suspends Bilateral Contact With Russia On Syria War

Monday, the United States confirmed that it was officially ending discussions with Russia on plans to achieve a peaceful solution to Syrian proxy war, which has lasted almost 6 years. US officials had threatened for almost a week to end negotiations with Russia on the Syrian peace process.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that there is “nothing more for the US and Russia to talk about” in Syria.

The most recent ceasefire agreement negotiated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry was scheduled to begin September 12 and has now officially collapsed after repeated incidents. On September 17, the United States coalition bombed Syrian troops fighting the Islamic State near the city of Deir Ezzor, killing more than 80 troops and wounding over 100. In response to that incident, which the US called an “accident”, Russia public accused the US of intentionally aiding the Islamic State.

“If previously we had suspicions that Al-Nusra Front is protected this way, now, after today’s airstrikes on the Syrian army we come to a really terrifying conclusion for the entire world: The White House is defending IS [Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL],” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Rossiya 24.

The US and Russian military will continue to “deconflict” to avoid problems with their aircraft flying over Syria, US officials will withdraw staff tasked with the purpose of setting up the Joint Implementation Center (JIC) agreed to as part of the ceasefire. The JIC was designed to enable military cooperation between the two sides to target the Islamic State and the Al Nusra, the former opposition group which was declared a foreign terrorist organization in November 2012. The JIC would have been located in Geneva, Switzerland and would have allowed for sharing of intelligence between Russia and the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State.

On Monday, Russia also suspended participation in a program for disposing of plutonium from decommissioned nuclear warheads. Russian officials noted “the radical change in the environment, a threat to strategic stability posed by the hostile actions of the US against Russia, and the inability of the US to deliver on the obligation to dispose of excessive weapons plutonium under international treaties,” as explanation for the decision.

Baran Hines writes for ActivistPost.com. He is the founder of WTFRLY.com, where you can read more of his work. This article may be reposted in part or in full with author attribution and source link.

Russia Conducting Nuclear Drills After US Threatens Attacks On Its Cities </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — International efforts to end the fighting in Syria have been dealt a serious blow, with the United States suspending direct contacts with Russia on halting the war, and chilly relations are turning even frostier after Russia put a hold on a plutonium disposal deal with Washington.

The two decisions, announced in their respective capitals just hours apart Monday, were ostensibly unrelated but underscored deep mistrust and rising tensions between the former Cold War foes, who are increasingly at odds on a number of issues, particularly Syria and Ukraine.

The moves further reduce areas of Washington-Moscow cooperation, yet their most immediate impact may be the potential death blow delivered to halting attempts to revive a moribund ceasefire in Syria, get desperately needed humanitarian aid to besieged communities and begin negotiations on political transition that could mean the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

The Obama administration said it decided to cut off discussions on Syria because Russia had not lived up to the terms of last month’s agreement to restore a tattered cease-fire and ensure sustained deliveries of humanitarian aid to besieged cities, such as Aleppo, which has been under bombardment from Russian and Syrian forces.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: “What’s clear is that there is nothing more for the United States and Russia to talk about with regard to trying to reach an agreement that would reduce the violence inside of Syria and that’s tragic.”

“This is not a decision that was taken lightly,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments … and was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed.”

Kirby’s statement said that Russia and Syria are pursuing military action in violation of the cease-fire agreement, and pointed to their targeting of hospitals as well as the Sept. 19 airstrike on a United Nations humanitarian aid convoy. The U.S. accused Russia of bombing that convoy, a charge both Russia and Syria have denied.

Russia intervened on behalf of its close ally Syria on Sept. 30 last year, joining Assad’s bombardment of both anti-Assad rebel groups and militant groups such as the Islamic State and Fatah al-Sham Front, an al-Qaida spinoff formerly known as the Nusra Front. Russia is interested in propping up Assad in part because Russia’s only naval facility outside the former Soviet Union is on the Syrian coast.

If it had been implemented, the cease-fire deal would have created a joint U.S.-Russian center to coordinate military and intelligence operations. President Barack Obama had overruled Pentagon objections to such cooperation and Secretary of State John Kerry made the offer.

According to a senior U.S. official, the Pentagon has ordered troops who had been deployed to set up the joint implementation center — fewer than 20 — to return to their bases. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so the person spoke on condition of anonymity.

The suspension will not affect communications between the two countries aimed at keeping their planes from bumping into each other over Syria.

And, U.S. officials said that despite the suspension of talks with Russia, they would continue to work for a truce and aid deliveries to Syria in other gatherings, including the International Syria Support Group, a collection of nations that includes Russia. In Geneva, the U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he was disappointed by the suspension of talks but stressed the U.N. would continue to work on both the humanitarian aid and political fronts.

In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, expressing “deep disappointment” about the U.S. move and blasting Washington for the failure to separate the rebels from al-Qaida’s branch in Syria.

“Washington’s decision reflects the inability of President Barack Obama’s administration to fulfill the key condition for the continuation of our cooperation in overcoming the Syrian crisis,” the statement said. “Or, perhaps, it never had an intention to do so. We are under a growing impression that in its striving for a much-desired change of power in Damascus Washington is ready to ‘make a deal with the Devil’ and forge a union with terrorists who want to turn history backwards and enforce their inhuman norms by force.”

The ministry added that “the stakes are high,” and warned that the “White House will bear the blame if Syria come under new blows by terrorists.”

The U.S. had agreed to separate the rebel groups but noted it was an extremely slow process. The U.S. has relatively few personnel on the ground in Syria and even the moderate rebels have said they are frustrated with the pace of U.S. help.

The suspension in Syria talks was announced just hours after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree halting a joint program with the U.S. on the disposal of weapons grade plutonium.

The decree cited the “emerging threat to strategic stability as a result of U.S. unfriendly actions,” as well as Washington’s failure to meet its end of the cease-fire deal. It said, however, that Russia will keep the weapons-grade plutonium covered under the agreement away from weapons programs.

Under the agreement, which was expanded in 2006 and 2010, Russia and the U.S. each were to dispose of 34 metric tons of plutonium, enough material for about 17,000 nuclear warheads. When it was signed in 2000, the deal was touted as an example of successful cooperation between Washington and Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. has “done all it could to destroy the atmosphere encouraging cooperation.” It cited U.S. sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and NATO’s deployment of forces near Russian borders.

The White House and State Department voiced disappointment with Russia’s decision to opt out of the program.

Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
The Obama administration through the U.S. State Department announces the suspension of bilateral talks with Russia about the cessation of hostilities in Syria, as Russia and the Syrian government continue to pursue a military course despite the ceasefire accord.