A Syrian boy carries a toy gun past a destroyed building in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on September 13, 2016 as a truce brokered by Russia and the United States saw guns fall silent at sundown the previous night. (AFP/Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Saturday accused the United States of violating their bilateral agreement which called for a cease-fire in Syria, saying the U.S.-led air strikes on Syrian military positions was a "bad omen" for the Russian-U.S. accord.
"Having conducted this airstrike, the United States has violated two of its commitments: one is the commitment to the Cessation of Hostilities, which the U.S. undertook together with us in February, and which we reconfirmed just a few days ago, and the other is the commitment the U.S. gave to the government of Syria when the U.S. started its air campaign two years ago," Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters here after a closed-door emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
The council meeting, which took place here Saturday night, was held at the request of Russia after the U.S.-led coalition staged air strikes on Syrian military positions.
More than 60 Syrian soldiers were killed on Saturday evening by the air strikes of the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition against Syrian military positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, reports said.
At the council meeting, Churkin said that he was sharing Russian "analysis and frustration over the situation in Syria."
"In fact, this is a very serious concern that we wanted to and we did share today with the members of the Security Council," he said.
The Saturday meeting was held as tensions between the United States and Russia escalated.
Before the beginning of the council meeting at around 19:30 EDT (2330 GMT), U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told reporters here that she dismissed the Russian request for an emergency council meeting as a "stunt."
"Russia really needs to stop the cheap point scoring and the grandstanding and the stunts and focus on what matters, which is implementation of something we negotiated in good faith with them," Power said.
"As Ambassador Power walked in, first thing she said, she was not interested in what I had to say because what I was saying is a stunt," Churkin said. "So, there's no point in my listening to Ambassador Power. So, I decided to leave the room, my delegation is there, and to share my reflections with you."
Asked by reporters here whether the air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria would put an end to the truce deal, which enabled the cease-fire to take effect on Monday, Churkin said: "This is a very big question mark."
"I would be very interested to see how Washington is reacting," he said.
In Geneva last Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced a landmark agreement on a nationwide cease-fire in Syria, which they hope would lead to their countries' military cooperation to end more than five years of bloodshed there.
An UK-based watchdog group said the Syrian soldiers abandoned their positions following the strikes, which facilitated an attack by the Islamic State (IS) group.
The IS captured the positions, prompting the Syrian army to send reinforcements to the al-Tharda Mountain, located just 10 km from the city of Deir al-Zour.
The general-command of the Syrian army accused the U.S. of supporting the IS in the attack in Deir al-Zour.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the U.S.-led air raids enabled the IS to capture al-Tharda Mountain.
The incident marks the first U.S.-led coalition attacked a government forces' positions since it started striking IS positions in Syria in late 2014.
Related:
UN Security Council to hold emergency session on Syria, diplomatic sources say
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Saturday evening on Syria after the U.S.-led coalition staged airstrikes on Syrian military positions, diplomatic sources told Xinhua. Full story
Syria accuses U.S. of supporting IS after striking Syrian army positions in Deir al-Zour
DAMASCUS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Foreign Ministry on Saturday accused the U.S. of supporting the Islamic State (IS) group, after a U.S.-led airstrike killed 62 Syrian soldiers in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.
"This cowered American act is an unequivocal evidence on the U.S. support to the IS," said the ministry. Full story
Pentagon says coalition airstrike may have struck Syrian military
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon said on Saturday a U.S.-led coalition airstrike against the Islamic State may have unintentionally targeted Syrian government forces.
"Coalition forces believed they were striking a Daesh fighting position," said a Pentagon statement, referring to the extremist group in its Arabic acronym. Full story
Russia says U.S.-led airstrikes kill 62 Syrian government troops
MOSCOW, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led coalition killed 62 Syrian government troops and injured some 100 others in a round of airstrikes in eastern Syria's province of Deir al-Zour, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.
"Today, in areas close to the Deir ez-Zor Airport, the aircraft from the international anti-Islamic State coalition carried out four air-strikes against units of the Syrian government troops surrounded by terrorists," the ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement. Full story
