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Earnest: ‘Everybody’s Patience With Russia Has Run Out’

October 3, 2016

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that Washington’s patience with Russia has "run out" on working together in Syria to negotiate a diplomatic resolution to the country’s civil war.

"I think everyone’s patience with Russia has run out," Earnest said at the White House daily press briefing. "They’ve also spent a great deal of credibility in making a series of commitments without any clear indication that they were committed to following them."

During the briefing, the State Department announced that it was suspending bilateral engagement with Russia after the department accused Moscow of not living up to its commitments of the ceasefire agreement in Syria.

The State Department’s statement comes as Russia continues helping the Syrian government assault the besieged city of Aleppo, Reuters reported.

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.
Kirby said that there would be continued communication with the Russian military to avoid accidental military interactions over Syria.
"What we have seen from the Russians in the year or so since their military intervention in Syria is that they have not made much progress against ISIL," Earnest said. "They have been reduced to try and to claim credit for successful U.S. operations."