US suspended talks with Russia on a Syrian truce and accused Moscow of not respecting the ceasefire agreement commitments. Russian-Syrian aerial bombing on civilian areas has intensified and prevented ensuring humanitarian aid to besieged communities. State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “Unfortunately, Russia failed to live up to its own commitments,” and added: “Rather, Russia and the Syrian regime have chosen to pursue a military course, inconsistent with the cessation of hostilities, as demonstrated by their intensified attacks against civilian areas, targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in need.”

With the agreement, US and Russia established the Joint Implementation Center in Genova, Switzerland, with the intention to facilitate collaboration between their militaries in targeting ISIS and al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, the al Nusra. As one of the requirements of the deal was not fulfilled - the ceasefire should have last for at least a week before the Center’s first working day - the Center was never launched and the US personnel who is currently in Geneva will now be sent home.

Even though the talks were suspended, Kirby said they will continue military coordination with Russia to provide security for their military personnel and to ensure that the US and Russian aircraft do not come into conflict when targeting ISIS in Syria.

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