(Reuters) - The United States accused Damascus on Monday of paralyzing Geneva peace negotiations, while Russia denied that and said nations backing Syrian rebels were leaning toward trying to end the civil war on the battlefield rather than in talks. A second round of talks in Geneva broke up on Saturday with chief mediator Lakhdar Brahimi lamenting a failure to advance much beyond agreement on an agenda for a third round later.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said President Bashar al-Assad's government was behind the impasse, aided and abetted by Russia and other allies of Damascus. "The regime stonewalled. They did nothing except continue to drop barrel bombs on their own people and continue to destroy their own country. And I regret to say they are doing so with increased support from Iran, from Hezbollah and from Russia," he said in Jakarta during a trip to Asia and the Middle East. Kerry appeared to be trying to tighten diplomatic pressure on Assad to reach a political settlement that would end government attacks on rebel-held areas and relieve the plight of tens of thousands of Syrians cut off from humanitarian aid. Pressing Moscow to wring a more flexible stance from Assad, he said: "Russia needs to be a part of the solution", rather than helping the Syrian leader with arms and other support.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hit back, citing "evidence that certain sponsors of the opposition are starting to create a new structure" bringing in Assad foes who have left the main opposition National Coalition. "In other words, a course is being set to move away from the negotiations track and once again place bets on a military scenario," Lavrov said at a joint news conference after talks with his Eritrean counterpart. He also faulted the United States for failing to ensure the presence of a broadly representative opposition delegation at the Geneva talks, saying that Russia had done its part in getting Assad's government to the table. "Russia is always being urged to make more of an effort to resolve the Syrian conflict," Lavrov said. "When we hear that Russia must take some steps, it's necessary to remember one simple truth: We have done everything we promised."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/17/us-syria-crisis-idUSBREA1G0R420140217
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