Moscow on Monday slammed the United States and Britain for accusing Russia of “barbarism” and war crimes in Syria.
“We note the overall unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which can damage and harm our relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft on Sunday accused Moscow of carrying out ‘war crimes’ in Syria.
“In short, it is difficult to deny, that Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes,” Rycroft said, adding that incendiary munitions “indiscriminate in their reach” were being used against Aleppo civilians.
US Ambassador Samantha Power meanwhile accused Moscow of “barbarism”.
For his part, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, on Sunday accused Washington of failing to convince armed opposition groups it supports to distance themselves from the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and abide by a short-lived ceasefire brokered earlier this month by Russia and the United States.
Churkin however said that reviving the ceasefire was still a goal that Moscow could pursue if it was part of a “collective” effort on all sides.
Peskov said Monday that the ceasefire has “little effect” but the Kremlin is not ready to bury it quite yet.
“Moscow is not losing the hope and political will to use maximum efforts to reach the point of political settlement in Syria,” Peskov said Monday. “So far it’s been hard.”
Source: AFP
