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1st LD: U.S. suspends negotiations with Russia over Syria ceasefire

Xinhua, October 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United States was suspending negotiations with Russia on restoring a ceasefire in Syria, the State Department said on Monday.

"This is not a decision that was taken lightly," State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement, accusing Russia of failing to live up to its commitments on the ceasefire agreement on Syria.

Russia "was also either unwilling or unable to ensure Syrian regime adherence to the arrangements to which Moscow agreed," he added.

On Sept. 10, Russia and the U.S. announced a landmark agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, which both sides hoped would lead to their countries' military cooperation to end more than five years of bloodshed there.

However, crossfire resumed in the first hours after the week-long truce deal expired on Sept. 19, with both parties trading accusations of failures to implement the deal. Endit