The attempt to achieve seven consecutive days of a “reduction of hostilities” — the first step in a series of events envisioned in the deal between the United States and Russia — is not dead. The clock can start anew. But American officials said it was clear that the effort could fall apart, as did a cease-fire agreement in February.
American officials accused Russia of not pressing the Assad government to stop military activity and allow in humanitarian aid. Mr. Kerry, appearing on CNN on Sunday morning, called on Russia to stop “grandstanding” and to push the Assad government to honor the Geneva agreement, including allowing the delivery of aid to besieged areas.
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Continue reading the main story “The biggest judgment they need to make is to stop Assad from bombing people indiscriminately, which he continues to do,” Mr. Kerry said. “To allow him to continue to go after opposition, pretending that they are Nusra, is in and of itself a huge challenge to this effort.”
The new plan to reduce violence was designed to prevent Syrian forces from bombing American-backed opposition groups while claiming the groups were embedded with Nusra forces, which until recently were officially linked to Al Qaeda.
The situation in Syria on Sunday showed that the cease-fire that began last Monday was fraying. Fighter jets fired at least four missiles at opposition neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, while Syrian government helicopters dropped improvised barrel bombs on a village in the country’s south, killing at least nine people, a conflict monitor said.
Many American officials believe that the Russians were never serious about the deal that was sealed in Geneva. The officials argue that the Russians were looking for an excuse that would derail it and keep a status quo in which they have more control over events in Syria than any other power, with the possible exception of Iran. If so, the accidental bombing made that process easier.