Hope that political wisdom prevails in Washington on Syria cooperation: Kremlin

People inspect a damaged site after airstrikes in the rebel held Karam Houmid neighbourhood in Aleppo, Syria on Oct 4, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

MOSCOW (AFP) - Moscow said on Tuesday (Oct 4) that it hopes "political wisdom" will prevail in Washington regarding cooperation in Syria after the United States dropped ceasefire talks with Russia over its support of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

"We would like to hope for the presence of political wisdom and the continuation of exchanges on particularly sensitive issues that are necessary for maintaining peace and security," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"As far as we understand, exchanges between our militaries are ongoing and will continue."

The United States said on Monday (Oct 3) it was suspending negotiations with Russia to revive a failed ceasefire and set up a joint centre to coordinate the fight against terrorists, saying Moscow had "failed to live up to its own commitments" and stepped up its military operations instead.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the Russian and US militaries will continue to use a communications channel set up to ensure their forces do not get in each others' way during "counter-terrorism operations in Syria".

Mr Peskov said on Tuesday that Washington's suspension of the talks did not mean "Russia will renounce its plans to assist Syria's armed forces in the fight against terrorism".

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that Washington is still seeking peace in Syria despite having suspended negotiations with Moscow.

He accused Russia of turning a "blind eye" to the use of weapons by President Assad's forces, including chlorine gas, against rebels and civilians in Syria.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it regretted Washington's decision to suspend the talks, accusing the United States of shifting responsibility for its failure onto Moscow.

Russia has been conducting a bombing campaign in Syria for the past year and is currently backing up a fierce regime assault on rebel-held eastern Aleppo, sparking international condemnation.

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