U.S. Says Persistent Syria Violence 'Unacceptable'
The United States said Tuesday that persistent violence in Syria was "unacceptable" and demanded that President Bashar al-Assad do more to comply with a peace plan to end months of bloodshed.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that a ceasefire -- which went into force on Thursday -- was eroding due to the daily violence and said that the opposition was upholding its side of the peace deal.
"This erosion is unacceptable," Toner told reporters when asked about the peace plan brokered by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan.
"The onus is on his regime. They need to live up to their side of the bargain," he said.
"They need to fulfill all the points of the Annan plan, implement all the points of the Annan plan. To date, they have not. They've barely fulfilled one," he said.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia, Assad's main ally, earlier pointed the finger at the opposition, saying that 11 of the 35 killed on Monday were soldiers. Lavrov called on foreign supporters to press rebels to honor the truce.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking Monday on a visit to Brazil, said that the United States is "hoping for the best" in Syria but discussing next steps with other powers if the ceasefire collapses.
France's Alain Juppe has invited several fellow foreign ministers for talks on Syria on Thursday in Paris. Toner had no immediate comment on whether Clinton, who was heading Tuesday to Brussels, would take part.
Source: Agence France Presse
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