The United States does not believe it is worthwhile for Secretary of State John Kerry to meet now with Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, about a ceasefire in Syria, the State Department said on Thursday.
"It's our belief that ... the remaining issues are at a technical level that need to be addressed within our interagency and also by some of the working groups," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
"We're just not at a point where we believe ... that it's worth his while to go have a meeting," he added, saying it was willing to meet when the two sides are closer to an agreement and the United States believes it would be useful.
Lavrov has arrived in Geneva for talks with U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, Russian news agencies cited a source in the Russian delegation as saying on Thursday.
The United States and Russia back opposing sides in Syria's civil war, which shows little sign of ending after 5-1/2 years of violence in which as many as 400,000 have died and half the prewar population has been uprooted. Moscow supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Washington believes must go.
On Sept. 2, diplomatic sources said the United States and Russia were nearing a deal that would set a 48-hour ceasefire in Aleppo, allow U.N. humanitarian access and limit Syrian government aircraft flights.
If one were reached, it could lead to U.S. intelligence sharing with Russia allowing Russian forces to target fighters of the group formerly known as Nusra Front, which Washington views as a terrorist group linked to al Qaeda.
"It's our belief that ... the remaining issues are at a technical level that need to be addressed within our interagency and also by some of the working groups," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
"We're just not at a point where we believe ... that it's worth his while to go have a meeting," he added, saying it was willing to meet when the two sides are closer to an agreement and the United States believes it would be useful.
Lavrov has arrived in Geneva for talks with U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, Russian news agencies cited a source in the Russian delegation as saying on Thursday.
The United States and Russia back opposing sides in Syria's civil war, which shows little sign of ending after 5-1/2 years of violence in which as many as 400,000 have died and half the prewar population has been uprooted. Moscow supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Washington believes must go.
On Sept. 2, diplomatic sources said the United States and Russia were nearing a deal that would set a 48-hour ceasefire in Aleppo, allow U.N. humanitarian access and limit Syrian government aircraft flights.
If one were reached, it could lead to U.S. intelligence sharing with Russia allowing Russian forces to target fighters of the group formerly known as Nusra Front, which Washington views as a terrorist group linked to al Qaeda.
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