Diplomat: Washington backpedals to initial stance whenever there is progress on Syria

MOSCOW, December 15./TASS/. Washington’s behind-the-scenes players are retreating to their initial positions each time Russian and US experts manage to reach agreements on Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday.

"We see our American partners repeating the same algorithm of behavior over and over again: as soon as experts, delegations reach any agreements in Geneva, Lausanne or any other place, some behind-the-scenes players in Washington, who apparently represent various administration divisions, immediately step in to adjust things, to put it mildly, and, to put it straight, to fight back, to retreat to the initial positions, to bring the entire situation back to level one, using the terms of computer games," he told TASS.

Expert talks on Syria suspended

Consultations in Geneva of Russian and US military experts and diplomats on the situation in Syrian Aleppo have been suspended, Ryabkov has added.

"They have been suspended," the diplomat said. 

"We see our American partners repeating the same algorithm of behavior over and over again: as soon as experts, delegations reach any agreements in Geneva, Lausanne or any other place, some behind-the-scenes players in Washington, who apparently represent various administration divisions, immediately step in to adjust things, to put it mildly, and, to put it straight, to fight back, to retreat to the initial positions, to bring the entire situation back to level one, using the terms of computer games," Ryabkov said.

For this reason,"consultations with Turkish colleagues have been held lately" on the issue, he said. "We equally have to search for options how to ensure the ceasefire and agree with the opposition in order to see humanitarian problems in Aleppo settled rightly," he noted.

However, Russia "is not dodging contacts with Americans and depending on the further development, they can be resumed in different formats," he added.

Cooperation with Turkey on Syrian crisis

Russia appreciates the proactive and productive cooperation with Turkey on the Syrian problem, Ryabkov pointed out.

"We think that Ankara is pursuing a rather responsible and constructive policy on the settlement and normalization of the current situation," the diplomat said. "This does not mean that we agree 100% with the Turks but our current cooperation is good and productive and we highly appreciate the dialogue with Turkey at all levels."

"We are equally forced to seek options of ensuring ceasefire and reaching an agreement with the opposition in order to resolve Aleppo’s humanitarian problems," the diplomat said. "This is the reason why we recently held consultations on this issue with Turkish colleagues."