On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a stern warning to Russian diplomats: Washington is prepared to end Syria talks if Moscow continues to drop bombs on Aleppo. According to the BBC, Kerry told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that the U.S. holds Russia responsible for dropping incendiary and bunker bombs on the northern Syrian city.
Aleppo has found itself suffering frequent air raids since the end of the U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire last week. The truce, which was meant to establish trust between the U.S.-backed rebel forces and the Russian-supported Syrian government, was abruptly ended following a deadly air strike on U.N. aid trucks near Aleppo. The U.S. has held Russia responsible for that attack, and many others in the days since, including one on a French medical facility.
Last Wednesday, Kerry tore into the Russian and Syrian forces for targeting civilians and committing war crimes during a speech to the U.N. Security Council. “How can people go sit at a table with a regime that bombs hospitals and drops chlorine gas again and again and again and again and again and acts with impunity?” the foremost U.S. diplomat asked. “You’re supposed to sit there and have happy talk in Geneva while the regime drops bombs?”
(Via BBC)