WASHINGTON — Saying its patience with Russia has run out, the United States formally announced Oct. 3 it was suspending its bilateral engagement with Russia on Syria, a decision the United States said it did not take lightly. While the United States was withdrawing its personnel from Geneva and Amman, Jordan, where they had been sent to oversee a partial Syria cease-fire deal reached in March, the United States will continue to talk to Russia in multilateral settings, and de-confliction channels would continue to operate, it said.
“The United States spared no effort in negotiating and attempting to implement an arrangement with Russia aimed at reducing violence,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement announcing the decision Oct. 3.