US responsible for any collapse of Syria ceasefire, Russia warns

A senior Russian military official has blasted the United States for failing to meet its obligations under a recently implemented ceasefire in Syria, saying Washington will be to blame if the truce deal falls apart.

According to the reports, on September 9, Moscow and Washington agreed on a milestone deal on the Syrian crisis after some 13 hours of marathon talks in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The truce went into effect at sunset on September 12. The deal's initial aims include allowing humanitarian access and joint Moscow-Washington attacks against militant groups, which are not covered by the agreement, including Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

Russian Defense Ministry official Lieutenant General Viktor Poznikhir said on Saturday that the ceasefire agreement has been violated by US-approved militant groups 199 times over the past five days, expressing concern that conditions in Syria were deteriorating particularly in Aleppo and Hama provinces.

“The United States and so-called moderate (terrorist) groups under their control did not implement any of the obligations taken under the Geneva agreements,” Poznikhir said.

“If the United States does not take steps needed to fulfill its obligations under the September 9 agreement, then all the responsibility for any collapse of the ceasefire in Syria would lie with the United States,” added the Russian army official.

Meanwhile, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that the fighting had resumed between militants and government forces in the suburb of Eastern Ghouta region, near the capital, Damascus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Takfiri terrorists in Syria of taking advantage of the truce deal to regroup.

SS